A Sofia Story
by TDP2009
Summary: Sofia is an orphan girl living in the village, James is a soon to be king who can't find a queen. This is their story.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sofia the first or ANY of the characters**

 **I just like writing about them!**

 **So first things first this is indeed my first Sofia fanfic and I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **Review and follow my story if you like it!**

 **I look forward to hearing from you and let the reading commence**

 **Chapter 1**

Sofia awoke to the sound of birds outside the window above her bed. She peeked out just as the sun was rising over the trees which gave the landscape a bright orange glow.

Sunrise had always been Sofia's favorite time of day. Ever since she was a child, she loved the fact that another day was beginning and she was given the opportunity to

learn something new.

When Sofia was 15 her village was hit with a pneumonia epidemic, she lost both her parents, but never lost her optimism. While most of the villagers were moved to the

school house, she kept her parents home and cared for them as best she could until the end.

When the news of her parents' recent demise reached the village her best friend Ruby's father, who had also lost his wife to the sickness, offered for Sofia to stay with them.

The last thing she wanted to be was a burden so she graciously declined.

The villagers were understanding and, at the risk of losing Sofia to the kingdom's orphanage, kept

the fact that her father had perished as well as her mother a secret since they couldn't lie about her mother.

Sofia's mother, Miranda, was the village seamstress and was the regular tailor to the royal family. Miranda had taught Sofia how to tailor for the villagers but never for the

royals, she didn't see it proper to let her daughter touch their garments at such a young age.

After Miranda's death, with the help of Ruby and Their friend Jade, Sofia took over the shop and the royal family hired a personal seamstress.

Miranda had thankfully also taught Sofia how to work the land and provide food which made living on her own that much easier, plus Sofia sold the extra fruits and

vegetables at festivals.

Sofia pulled herself out of bed and began removing her waist length hair from it's braid causing the auburn strands to wave around her shoulders. Sofia pulled the curls

behind her head, sighed and looked around her small one roomed cottage.

Sofia hadn't changed much about the house in the three years since her parents' death.

the wash basin at the far end of the cottage that her mother had once used to wash her hair and face in was still sitting in the same place.

The basin its self was made of porcelain with roses her grandmother had hand painted outlining the brim and it sat on a cherry wood shelf in front of an antique mirror with

roses carved into the cherry wood frame that housed it.

In front of the dark stone hearth were two oak rocking chairs where Sofia would sit practicing her stitching and her mother, beside her, would work on orders from the village.

In the middle of the room sat an oak table with four oak chairs on each side where her father would sit and read his hunting and trapping books by the lamplight.

The bed Sofia slept on was the same straw filled mattress she had when she was a child. She had removed her parents bed a month after they had died because looking at it

was too painful.

The Cottage only had two windows, one by the door across from her bed and the other above her bed. There was a row of cabinets that lined the opposite end of the cottage

that held fruit preserves and canned vegetables from previous seasons. Under the cabinets was a shelf that held bread Sofia had made the night before and a basket for eggs

she used to gather from her three chickens in the mornings.

After getting washed up and putting on her favorite dress, a white puff sleeved chemise with green lace up the back and a green skirt that hadn't yet started to fade,

Sofia grabbed the basket and opened the door to greet the cool autumn morning. She took a deep breath and headed to the wooden chicken coop beside the cottage.

After gathering the six eggs from her hens Sofia let them out into their fenced yard and headed to the garden beside the spring behind the house.

Sofia was happy that two pumpkins and some carrots were ready to be harvested. The royal festival was a couple weeks away and she would have carrot cake and pumpkin

pie to sell.

Sofia needed to get to her shop early to finish a dress for Mrs. Neely. Mrs. Neely was her best and most consistent customer since she and her two daughters

spent most of their time picking berries in the forest for Mr. Neely, the village baker, and their dresses always got torn and snagged.

Sofia cooked two eggs, toasted a slice of bread and ate quickly before gathering her things and making her way to the village.

The mile long path through the forest was peaceful and the flowers that grew along side the foot path gave the air a sweet smell.

Sofia arrived in the village and headed toward her shop which was on the east side nestled between the general store and, ironically, the textile market which

made her job easier.

The village was beginning to wake up as she got there and to her amazement Jade was already there working on the Neely dress

"Jade? What are you doing here so early?" Sofia asked shocked

Jade was never on time, she always had some excuse to come in late and leave early

"Good morning Sofia. I figured we needed to get Mrs. Neely's dress done early so we didn't have to push it like last week" she replied referring to a mishap where Mrs. Neely

had to wait an extra hour for her dress and by the time it was done her face was an odd shade of blue.

"Good thinking, how much more work do we have on it?" Sofia asked putting her things away

"well actually I'm done with it. I've been here since before dawn" Jade said proudly as she walked over to show Sofia the dress.

Sofia looked it over and smiled "this is really good work, do we have any other orders for today?"

"nope, we finished all the other orders yesterday and we haven't received any others so were free" jade smiled, her small dark brown eyes twinkling

Sofia guessed Jade wanted to go home and back to sleep. Before Sofia had a chance to reply Ruby walked in

"Jade?" she asked rubbing her eyes confused

"Yeah, It's weird right" Sofia said sarcastically, poking jade in the side "she finished the Neely dress and, for the moment, we're free"

"Well my dad is about to deliver shoes to the royal family" Ruby smiled enthusiastically

"well maayybee he could use our help" Jade sang and danced towards the door

"We could deliver the Neely dress and go, it sounds like fun" Sofia giggled

Jade grabbed Ruby's hand and ran out to ask Mr. Hamilton

"Well then I guess I'm delivering the dress!" Sofia called after them laughing.

The road from the village to the castle was through a patch of forest. The sunlight danced around their carriage in thin beams and broke out into a massive flower field which,

it was rumored, that queen Anne had planted to make the ride more welcoming.

Sofia hadn't been to the castle since she was eleven. Miranda let her help deliver a dress to Princess Amber for her and her brother James's thirteenth birthday party.

Sofia didn't go again after that day because she mentioned how she wished she had a dress as pretty as the princess's and got lectured all night about how she needed to

know her place and not to talk that way.

Sofia thought it was funny, she couldn't even remember what the dress looked like any more.

The carriage pulled up to the servant's entrance of the castle. All the girls got out along side Mr. Hamilton who handed them each a pair of shoes.

"Remember girls, don't' look them in the eyes, and don't' speak unless they address you first." Hamilton said giving them all stern looks

"Sofia, I'm giving you the prince's shoes. Can you manage to keep your wits about you?" He asked, making Sofia blush.

"Yes sir. I won't embarrass you like I'm sure Jade and Ruby would." She shot her friends with a playful look.

They laughed as the girls stuck out their tongues. Luckily Hamilton didn't notice

"I should hope not. As much as I appreciate you coming along, I don't want to regret allowing you to help me." He smiled jokingly.

A tall, thin man wearing formal clothes came to great them. "Good afternoon, would you please follow me." He didn't wait for an answer, turning heal, he led the group inside.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Prince James sat on a red velvet pillowed mahogany chair at a long twenty four seat mahogany table in the castle's bright dining room. Above the table hung a large crystal

chandelier that was catching sunlight from the wall length window behind him and sending sparkles of rainbow colored light to the

maroon wall in front of him. It was holding his attention away from the boring conversation between his mother Queen Anne and his twin sister Princess Amber who were

discussing the villager's ball.

Every year the royal family invites all of the adults in the village to come to the castle and spend time with them. King Roland, James's father, had started the tradition when

he became king.

The village of Dunwitty was a very important aspect of their kingdom and his whole family agreed the village needed to be rewarded for how hard they worked

"The village baker will be making the cake, as always, and a few villagers have volunteered to be this year's entertainment" Anne said checking off items on a list in front of

her

"how many villagers will there be this year, mother?" Amber asked looking over a list of her own

"only one added to the ten from last year, so a total of eleven"

"alright, so will they be bringing dishes or be using ours?" Amber asked almost rudely and James snapped his head towards her appalled

"we have this ball every year, Amber, and this will be the last one you attend. Do you think that just this once you could please not be so selfish" he said through gritted teeth

irritated that she treated everyone so disrespectful

"Mother, James is yelling at me" amber said dismissively fixing a strand of corn yellow hair that matched his behind her shoulder

"Your brother is right Amber. This is the last year you will be the princess of Enchancia. Think of this as a farewell ball to your previous subjects" Anne said in a gentle tone

and Amber's green eyes that also matched his lit up

"you're right mother, I hadn't thought of it that way. Of course they will use our dishes, after all they have to remember what a fabulous princess I was" her voice spilled with

acid and James had heard enough

"Mother. Amber. If you will please excuse me I have work to do" he said standing up

"Oh but James we still have your ball to discuss" his mother said grabbing his arm as he walked by her

"Oh. Yes mother" and he reluctantly sat back down between them.

James had hoped they already planned his ball considering his coronation to be king was fast approaching.

As tradition he had to host a ball to either find a queen or announce his engagement. Despite his sister's attempts at setting him up with her friends who were, despite their

beauty, as dull as sand stones

he had not yet found a suitable queen. James wasn't sure what he expected, the princesses from the surrounding kingdoms were all the same and he knew eventually that he

would have to choose one

"Oh we must hire the orchestra that Zandar had at our engagement party" Amber said enthusiastically tearing James away from his thoughts as she brought up the fact she

was getting married for the millionth time making James roll his eyes.

James didn't care that she was getting married before him he was just glad she was going off to be queen somewhere else. It wasn't as though he didn't love his sister, of

course he did, he was just tired of hearing her whine about trivial nonsense for the past twenty years.

"Oh of course dear, they were absolutely fantastic" his mother gushed "what do you think James?"

"um, sure they were good. And I want chocolate truffles" he said remembering that he hadn't had them at their last ball

"of course you would only be interested in the food. Your such a glutton" Amber said sighing and James just smirked.

Looking around the room James thought about how the dining hall hadn't changed in all the years he had been here. The suits of armor by the white brick fire place still stood

in their archways at the head of the table, the king's place, and everything had a musky old smell even though the castle was cleaned

from top to bottom every day by the two hundred servants that roam the halls.

"your majesties, the shoemaker and his assistants have arrived for your fitting" the castle steward Bailywick said in his usual formal tone

"oh I had forgotten that was today" queen Anne said getting up "show them in please Bailywick"

James walked into the large throne room and took his place among his family on a red satin lined platform at the end of the room. Looking up he noticed and recognized the

shoemaker but there were three village girls standing behind

him that he had never seen before

"Good morning your Majesties" they all said as the shoemaker bowed and the three girls curtsied.

James eyed each of the girls closely

"who are your assistants today?" James's father asked.

The shoemaker smiled and beckoned the girls to come out from behind him

"This is my daughter Ruby" he said gesturing toward a broad shouldered, dark skinned girl on his left with small brown eyes set in an oval shaped face and short curly black

hair "her friend Jade" he said pointing to a light skinned thin girl on his right with shoulder length brown hair and bigger hazel eyes

"And this is Sofia" he said pulling her from where she had been standing behind him with what sounded to James like a bit more pride than the first two.

Sofia was thin framed, had wavy waist length auburn hair, big bright blue eyes against fair porcelain like skin and her cheeks had a touch of pink in them giving her an air of

innocence that the other two girls had lacked.

James couldn't take his eyes off of this girl and he wasn't sure why he was so drawn to her

"Its nice to meet you, ladies" the queen said smiling

"Indeed it is" the king agreed happily "you may begin our fitting now"

The four of them bowed and walked forward with the shoes. Sofia stood in front of James and curtsied

"hello Sofia" James said as she got to her knees and began removing his shoes.

"Hello your majesty" she said in a sweet voice

James watched her closely noticing how callused her small hands were and how she kept agitatedly moving her hair out of her face every couple minuets making James laugh

"Don't you have a hair ribbon?" he asked still laughing and she shook her head still working on his shoes

"I'm afraid not, your majesty. I apologize for the distraction" she sighed "your shoes seem to fit perfectly, your majesty. How do they feel?" Sofia asked standing up and

smiling as she aggressively tugged her hair behind her head.

James stood and wiggled his feet around "another pair of great shoes, shoemaker. Thank you" he stated proudly and the rest of his family agreed clapping their hands happily

the shoe maker bowed and beckoned the girls to come to him

"It's time to take our leave girls, pay your respects to the royal family"

they all curtsied and turned to leave when James had an idea

"Sofia, wait a moment please" he ordered and quickly left the room.

James turned down the marble hallways, passed the statues and paintings of deceased kings and queens when he finally found himself in the seamstress's quarters

"Madam Caltry, I need a hair ribbon" he said quickly looking around the room

"yes, Prince James. Any specific color?" she asked and he thought for a moment

"royal blue"

When James returned to the throne room everyone looked at him quizzically as he approached Sofia and showed her the ribbon

"for your hair" he laughed stepping behind her and tied her thick hair into a pony tail

"thank you, your majesty" Sofia said looking up at him, her eyes sparkling brightly causing him to smile greater.

She quickly looked back down at the floor apparently forgetting herself

"Will I see you at the villagers ball?" he asked hopefully and she nodded

"yes, your majesty. My first actually"

"I look forward to seeing you then" he said as she curtsied and turned to the door

"what. Was. That James?" his sister asked curtly

"I'm not sure" he sighed thinking about what had just happened and he smiled "But I can't wait to see her again"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Sofia couldn't help but smile and run her fingers over the ribbon in her hair on the way to the village.

"I can't believe he gave you a gift Sofia! Your so lucky!"

"We will help you make your dress for the ball! This is so exciting" she heard them continue talking but she was at a loss for words.

The ride back to the village seemed shorter than normal and before she knew it she and the girls were standing outside her shop

"Oh I wish I was eighteen so I could go" Jade sighed

"So do I, Jade" Ruby mimicked her sigh

Both of Sofia's friends were both a year younger than her so they weren't able to go to the ball. Thomas, a boy in the village, had asked her a month before to go with

him and she had agreed.

Sofia and Thomas had been friends since they were children and he had courted her before her parents passed, she had been in such a depressed state for

months after that she had refused to see anyone including him. When Sofia turned seventeen Thomas had began hinting at resuming their courtship but she

wasn't ready so he was using the ball as a way to redeem himself.

"Are you still going with Thomas?" Jade asked as though she was reading Sofia's mind

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" Sofia asked

Both girls stared at her and yelled "BECAUSE THE PRINCE ASKED YOU!" causing everyone passing by to stop and stare at them

"Don't be ridiculous, the prince only gave me a hair ribbon and asked IF I was going to the ball. Not if he could escort me. Its a villagers ball

remember" Sofia stated confidently "Now I have a dress to make and only three days to do it. You girls have a nice night and I will see you tomorrow" her

friends rolled their eyes

"Yeah yeah, we will be over tomorrow to help you with it"

The walk home was just as peaceful as it had been that morning only Sofia felt different somehow, she wanted to skip and frolic through the forest but she

knew she needed to remain calm

"Oh but the prince was so handsome!" she said to the branches above her head

Just the thought of his short sparkling blonde hair made her want to run her fingers through it and she remembered how his bright green emerald eyes

sparkled when she looked up at him

"Stop it, Sofia" she sighed to herself "Mother was right, I need to know my place and that is in the village fixing dresses and being invisible"

Sofia decided to forget about what had happened earlier that day and when she finally entered the clearing where her cottage sat the sun was directly

overhead causing the stream that ran behind her home to sparkle and shine

"Maybe a bath will help ease my head" she said opening the door, sat her belongings down, placed the ribbon on the table gently and refused to think about the prince

anymore.

Sofia turned to the counter, grabbed the loaf of bread, sliced off a piece and walked over to the hearth lighting a fire so she could make tea and toast.

After she had finished eating she grabbed a clean dress that had belonged to her mother, it was white and came down to her knees, and went out to the

stream for her bath. The water was cold and only came up to her ankles, a little further down was a small swimming hole where the water came over her

head and got warmer but Sofia enjoyed the feeling of goose bumps that cold water gave her skin and she always felt more awake afterwards.

After her bath Sofia washed her clothes and hung them to dry, she made a mental note to get some more red dye from the general store since her best dress with red lace

that went up the front was beginning to fade and she couldn't stand wearing faded dresses.

The sun began to set around Sofia's cottage and she settled in for the night after bringing in her clean dry clothes. Sofia locked her door, shut the curtains

on the windows and added wood from the pile beside the fireplace to the hearth so it would burn brighter.

Sofia had always been afraid of the dark, it was a childish notion she knew but being so secluded in the forest was terrifying at night. Most nights Sofia would read the books

her father left behind, not that she hunted but if the issue ever came up she would know what to do.

Sofia got all of her meat from other villagers who had extra during hunting seasons and every so often Mr. Neely would bring her meat and berry pies from

his shop which he never let her pay for.

Other books her father left behind were either fairy tales or history, Patrick was a well traveled and educated man despite his career as a fisherman and he taught Sofia basic

education consisting of how to read and write, history, simple math and astronomy. Sofia could name almost every constellation in the sky and she knew enough to never get

lost in the woods by following the stars.

Sofia lit the lantern on her table, gathered the material for her dress and began cutting out a pattern. The night grew deeper as Sofia sewed and

snipped forgetting about the events of her day until she couldn't anymore. Finally she turned down her lantern, smothered the hearth, lied down on per mattress

And let her dreams engulf her.

The girls finished her dress the morning of the ball which gave them time to plan the whole day for Sofia

"What time is Thomas picking you up?" Ruby asked evaluating Sofia's hair

"The ball starts at night fall so id guess we will be leaving at dusk" Sofia answered feeling her hair being pulled and tugged at

"I still can't believe your letting him escort you, what if the prince was wanting to dance with you" Jade asked sighing as she held Sofia's ribbon between her

fingers

"I'll take that" Ruby said grabbing the ribbon from her hand

"Don't be silly Jade. Plus if he wants to dance with me all he has to do is ask" Sofia said laughing at Ruby's abruptness

Go get your dress on so I can finish your hair Sofia" Ruby said pushing her towards the dressing room at the back of the store.

Sofia emerged a few minuets later and both of her friends gasped, the chemise of her dress was a light shade of purple that tied in the front with white lace,

it was modest enough that she could wear it without fault in the village but showed off a bit more skin than she was used to. The skirt was ground length

but didn't drag and was an iridescent pearl color that was very pretty in the sun and she hoped the ballroom lights would make it look like a rainbow

"We did good" Jade said breaking the silence of the room and all three girls busted out laughing.

Ruby braided the ribbon into Sofia's hair and pinned it into a knot on the back of her head giving it a spiral effect

"You look amazing, way too good for Thomas" Jade gushed

"oh give it a rest Jade, she is going with Thomas and nothing you say will change that" Ruby stated defensibly and as if on cue the bell above the door opened as Thomas

came in.

Thomas was a tall lanky boy who had shaggy brown hair which at the moment was being covered by a top hat, a large forehead and oddly shaped brown

eyes, his most attractive feature was his smile however what he lacked in appearance he made up for in chivalry

"good afternoon ladies, I hope I haven't kept you waiting Sofia" he said sweetly removing his hat

"Not at all, Thomas, shall we go"

"Yes, it will be night soon" Sofia looked at her friends and they

both hugged her

"have fun and tell us everything" Jade said and Sofia was sure she was referring to the prince

"I will, good night girls!" she yelled and got up on the drivers seat of Thomas's buggy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Prince James stood at the bottom of the grand golden staircase that lead into the ball room where the villagers ball was starting. He saw familiar villagers standing around the

buffet tables laughing and dancing around aimlessly.

James hadn't moved from his spot since the first villager had arrived wanting to be there to escort Sofia on the floor. A half an hour went by before he finally saw her standing

at the head of the staircase in a beautiful dress that was shimmering in the light like the rainbows the chandelier in his dining room made.

She began descending to the ball room smiling as their eyes met but before he could offer his arm a village boy with a worn brown suit ran to catch her.

This strange boy took her arm as she smiled sweetly at him and for the first time in his life James found himself jealous.

It wasn't as though Sofia was the first beautiful girl he had ever seen but there was something different about her, something real, that made him crazy.

James hadn't been able to get her out of his head since the day they met and he was determined to find out why he found her so special. Confused thoughts had taken hold of

him and he figured spending the evening dancing and talking to her would ease his mind but as he watched her this _other boy_ walk on to the dance floor he knew he

would have to find a way to get rid of him

"Good evening Sofia" he said walking up to her and her escort. He took her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles "you look beautiful"

"Good evening, your majesty" she curtsied and pulled her hand away shyly.

James smiled down at her, doing his best to ignore the boy who was standing far too close to Sofia

"your majesty" the tall boy spoke in a voice that instantly irritated James "my name is Thomas Criet" he said bowing respectfully.

"Thomas, I'm sure you wouldn't object to Sofia honoring me with my first dance would you" James said in a confident tone rather than a question, not

taking his eyes off of Sofia

"I suppose not, your majesty, if she wants to" Thomas said a little nervous and James smirked and continued staring at her

"Sofia, may I have this dance"

"yes, your majesty" Sofia answered slowly

"just be sure to give her back afterward" Thomas said possessively and James was happy to hear the hint of jealousy in his voice.

James didn't answer Thomas as he took Sofia's arm and gestured for the band to start playing

"you really do look magnificent tonight" James said as they began dancing to the violin's song

"So do you, your majesty" she replied as the pink in her cheeks got darker

"Please, call me James" he said laughing at her embarrassed state

"James" she said as if tasting the word on her mouth like a fine wine, her eyes landed on his neck for a moment as they continued dancing flawlessly

"where did you learn to dance?" James asked breaking her concentration

"my father taught me" she said, a mix of pride and sadness coating her words

"in the village?" James asked shocked

"yes, he was born a nomad but settled down when he met my mother"

"I would very much like to talk with him about his experiences" James enthused but when he saw Sofia's expression his mood changed

"Is something the matter" he asked concerned

"n-no, um, James" she said making him smile, he liked how she made his name sound.

The song ended and James looked up to see everyone in the ball room had their surprised eyes on them

"Your majesty, may I cut in" Thomas asked not waiting for an answer as he wedged Sofia's arm back in his

"perhaps you and I could take a walk in the gardens after your dance" James instigated aggravated that this boy was being so persistent

"perhaps, James" she said sweetly easing his anger, Thomas looked down at her horrified and whispered something in Sofia's ear that made her giggle

"oh Thomas, he told me to. Don't be so critical" she told him giggling

"well I don't find it proper, your a villager Sofia" Thomas said in a warning tone, obviously upset Sofia had referred to James so informally, Sofia regained her posture and

looked up at James before staring down at the floor

"now come, lets go get something to eat" Thomas pulled her along with him to the food tables with James following behind them.

Who was this village boy to think he could talk to Sofia like that? And why is he being so protective of her? And then the realization that maybe he was courting her hit him

and he wouldn't have it. James was too deeply attracted to Sofia to not have a chance at all with her.

The villagers ball was the most fun James had had in years, he spent the evening dancing and with Sofia, eating chocolate and laughing as Thomas kept tripping over his own

feet and who also, More than once, tripped Sofia who was doing her best to stay on her feet. When the last song ended Sofia ran over to James enthusiastically

"shall we take our walk before I go?" she asked taking his arm and pulling him towards the door

"of course" he replied excitedly

James was happy that he was getting to spend time with Sofia and during the evening he got to know a lot more about her. The gardens were lined with lanterns and smelled

like lilacs, Sofia smiled as she inhaled deeply and took James's hand

"so, who exactly is Thomas to you?" James asked wanting to get the question out of the way

"well, to be honest he wants to court me" she said making circles on his hand with her thumb

"wants to?" he asked humorously

"we've known each other since we were children and when we were fourteen I allowed him to court me. Unfortunately some things happened in my life and I called it off, now

he wants to start up again"

"what happened to make you end the relationship?" there was a pause and Sofia led them over to a fountain in the middle of the gardens and leaned over the side

"pneumonia took my...mother" she admitted running her fingers through the water

"I'm so sorry Sofia" James said squeezing her hand gently

"it's fine, I'm not the only one who lost family. It was a hard time for entire village" she replied looking at him with a sorrowful smile

"Sofia!" James heard Thomas call "Sofia where are you!" Sofia sighed and laid her head on James's shoulder comfortably catching him off guard but he didn't move her

"is he always so possessive of you?" James asked moving a piece of hair that had fallen from it's braid

"he's just jealous, I told you he wants to be with me" Sofia sighed

"but you don't want to be with him do you" he asked knowingly and Sofia shook her head and looked up at him. Their eyes met for an instant and James brought her face up

to his, their lips meeting softly but their kiss was cut short when Thomas finally found them

"there you are, are you re-" Thomas stopped when he saw their intimate position "what is going on?" Thomas barked angrily

"Thomas, Sofia and I were in the middle of a discussion" James said calmly "yeah that's what it looks like. Sofia, lets go" he demanded and Sofia gently pulled her hand from

James's

"I should get home, James, its getting late" she said and kissed his cheek gently before walking passed Thomas who was staring at James angrily

"why are you leading her on like this, your majesty? She's just a village girl, _MY_ girl" he spat the last two words obsessively. Usually James did not let people talk to

him the way Thomas was but he understood where he was coming from

"she isn't yours Thomas nor is she just a village girl. She is a strong willed woman with her own voice and I'm not leading her on, I genuinely care for her" James said keeping

his calm demeanor

"you don't know anything about her, you weren't the one who was with her when her parents died. You aren't the one that loves her! I am! So do everyone a favor and leave

her alone!" Thomas yelled and turned to leave.

James stood alone in the gardens stunned, Thomas had just told him that both of Sofia's parents were dead whereas Sofia only said her mother was. Why had she kept it from

him? He needed answers and he needed to let Sofia know he was serious about his interests in her. He was going to go to the village.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The ride back to the village should have been wonderful, she had just been kissed by the prince! But Thomas wouldn't let her enjoy it

"you should forget whatever ideas you have about the prince, he doesn't love you Sofia" he rambled on and Sofia sighed. The thought of the prince loving

her never crossed her mind, she was content with the fact he wanted to be around her.

She didn't say anything to Thomas the entire ride back and when they got to the village Sofia jumped down from the carriage by herself and made her way

home, not caring that the path was dark

"Sofia, please at least let me walk you home" Thomas said trying to grab her hand

"no, thank you Thomas. I am quite capable of walking by myself" she said surprising herself with how passive she was being but none the less she turned

and ran home.

The next morning came too soon for Sofia. She did her chores and ate breakfast but she didn't feel like venturing into the village. Jade and Ruby would be

able to take care of the shop for one day plus Sofia didn't want to run into Thomas.

After washing her hair Sofia decided to go berry picking in the forest so she gathered a basket and a shawl so she wouldn't get scratched by thorns.

The forest was quiet as Sofia picked the blackberries that grew behind her house and her mind wandered to James and how at ease she felt with him.

Sofia's basket was half full of berries when she suddenly felt like she was being watched, she looked around but everything remained still

"hello?" she called hoping her imagination was getting the better of her and when no one answered she was sure it was.

Suddenly there was a menacing growl to her left and she froze. The village had a bad bear problem when Sofia was young but the king was supposed to

have had them all killed off.

Sofia's first thought was to run as fast as she could to the village but she knew she couldn't out run the monster and she didn't want to put anyone else in

danger so she stayed as still as she could and hoped it would go away.

The beast let out another great roar and Sofia took off running back towards her cottage, her dress getting caught and ripped on thorns

and branches causing her to trip but she knew she had to keep going.

The bear was right behind Sofia, she could hear its giant paws hitting the ground causing small quakes

"HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE!" she screamed hoping a hunter or Mrs. Neely were out this far but no one came.

Sofia's heart was pounding in her chest and her legs felt like they were on fire

"HELP ME SOMEBODY!" she screamed again before falling hard over a tree root, she held her arms over her face like a shield anticipating the bear's attack

"SOFIA!" she heard a man yell but before she could take down her arms a white hot pain shot through them and her chest making her scream out in pain

"MEN, CUT THE BEAST DOWN!" she recognized James's voice as she began to lose consciousness

"James" she choked out not able to move her arms, she felt something warm running down her body that she assumed was blood and the air smelled heavy

of salt

"Sofia! Can you hear me?" James asked taking her in his arms which caused the pain to worsen and she gasped, catching a glimpse of his worried face

before she faded into oblivion.

Sofia woke up in a strange room, it was bigger than her cottage and everything was an alarming shade of pink.

Sunlight shown through a giant window with pink curtains tied to the sides, the canopy hanging over her was pink and she was covered by a pink blanket on

a very comfortable double bed.

As Sofia looked around the room she thought she must be in the castle, James probably brought her there after she was attacked earlier that day. The smell

of flowers brought her attention to her left side where, to her amazement, James was sleeping in a chair with his head resting on his folded arms which

concluded her castle theory

"James" Sofia spoke softly noticing her throat was dry and very sore. James didn't move so Sofia tried to poke him but when she went to move her left arm

she saw in was wrapped in bandages and hurt to move "James" she said a little louder making her wince but he began to stir

"Sofia?" he asked groggily "Sofia your awake!" he exclaimed after a moment of realization, she merely nodded her head not wanting to hurt her throat again

and he gently put his arms around her neck in a hug that Sofia wasn't able to reciprocate "how do you feel?" he asked looking her over as he pulled away

and she pointed to her throat and shook her head, James seemed to understand her meaning and pulled on a rope that was hanging next to her bed.

Sofia rose an eyebrow at him not knowing what was going on and he laughed

"its to let the servants know you need them" but Sofia just gave him a "ooh" look and laughed.

A couple moments later a woman came in wearing a blue dress and a white apron

"yes, your majesty?" she asked sweetly

"miss Sofia needs water and a bowl of broth, and send for the doctor please" he ordered

"of course your majesty" she said and left the room

"are you sore?" James asked sitting beside her on the bed and lightly caressing her bandaged arms

"yes" she said, her voice rough

"don't speak, the doctor will be with you soon. It's been a long four days but hopefully your wounds are healing well" James said running his fingers through

her hair and Sofia's eyes got wide She had been asleep for Four days?

Did she hit her head when she fell? Did James stay with her the entire time? Did Ruby and Jade know where she was? Sofia started to panic, what if they

saw the blood in the forest and thought she was dead!

"Sofia what's wrong?" James asked worried as he looked to make sure nothing had hurt her

"Jade and Ruby" she croaked and he calmed down

"your friends were informed of your whereabouts, don't worry" he said as a middle aged man in a white suit walked in

"ah miss Sofia, finally decided to join us I see" he said smiling and Sofia nodded confused

"this is doctor Matthews" James said holding her hand gently and Sofia smiled up at him "she's having difficulty talking" James informed him

"not surprising, I'm sure she's quite hungry as well. She's been asleep shy of a week after all" doctor Matthews said lightly

but she wasn't hungry, she had gone much longer without food

"well lets take a look at your arms shall we" the doctor said removing the bandages on her right arm. The skin under was red and swollen, there were two

gashes that went from the middle of her arm to her elbow.

Sofia closed her eyes not wanting to see anymore, James stroked her hair comfortingly

"the magical antiseptic we used is starting to take effect but it will be a few more days before the wounds are completely healed with no scars" doctor

Matthews said unconcerned with her grotesque arm but she was taken off by his term magical

"magical? "she asked trying to sound as confused as possible

She had read of magic in her father's books but believed it to be a myth

"yes, well I will check up on you later on this afternoon miss Sofia" the doctor said finishing re wrapping her arms

"thank you doctor, talk to Cedric if you need anything" James said smiling. The doctor left as the woman from earlier quietly

came in with a pitcher of water, a glass and a bowl of broth on a tray and left. Sofia eagerly drank down the first glass of water that James poured for her,

he had to hold it for her which she was embarrassed about but her throat instantly felt better

"would you like another?" he asked laughing and she nodded her head

after the second glass was gone she was able to talk again

"thank you James" she spoke, her voice still scratchy

"would you like the broth?" he asked grabbing the spoon from the bowl

"you can't feed me" Sofia stated stubbornly

"why not? You can't do it yourself and you need to eat" he said bringing the bowl closer to her mouth

"call the woman who brought it back and have her do it" she said flatly

"why won't you let me feed you, Sofia?" James asked confused

"your going to be the king soon, you shouldn't have to spoon feed a lame village girl" she huffed and he rolled his eyes

"how about this? The next time I'm sick or injured I'll call for you to take care of me" James said sarcastically

Sofia thought for a moment as she examined his face. James was extraordinarily handsome, his short blonde hair sparkling in the light from the afternoon

sun, his emerald green eyes shining as he smiled his beautiful crooked smile that made her feel warm and loved in a way she had never felt before. She

wanted to stare at him and memorize his face but she knew she needed to answer him before he got frustrated and left

"fine" she sighed "but I'm holding you to that" she said opening her mouth for the spoon.

The broth was different from anything she had ever tasted, it was sweet and richer than any meat she knew of

"what is that?" she said savoring the flavors on her tongue

"veal broth" James said spooning more in "its my favorite"

When the bowl was empty Sofia closed her eyes, a wave of tiredness washing over her

"Sofia?" James asked "hmm?" "I need to ask you something" he said in an uneasy tone

"anything" Sofia opened her eyes and looked over at him

"the night of the ball you told me your father was a nomad remember?"

"of course"

"why didn't you tell me he had died when your mother did?"

Sofia sighed knowing she should tell him the truth

"I didn't want any of the villagers to get in trouble" she answered slowly

"what do you mean?" James asked confused

"I was fifteen when they died and I refused to leave my home, the villagers kept my father's death a secret from the king so I wouldn't be forced to go to

the orphanage" she told him hoping he wouldn't be mad and to her surprise he leaned over and kissed her on the lips which she happily gave in to.

The kiss was deeper than the one in the gardens, she could feel his passion for her raging

"oh Sofia" he sighed pulling away and smiling down at her "you care so much for other people, I wouldn't dare punish anyone for keeping you here and I

wouldn't let my father either. I owe all of them my happiness" his expression was genuine and she smiled up at him

"have you really been living on your own since you were fifteen?" he asked sadly

"yes, it was tough at first but after three years I've learned a lot" Sofia remarked proudly "now can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, anything"

"Can you tell me about magic?"


	6. Chapter 6

**I'd like to send a special thank you to AnonymousCracker, your comment meant a lot to me and I appreciate your optimism**

 **XOXO**

 **Chapter 6**

Blood.

So much blood.

SOFIA'S BLOOD.

James watched as the beast had ripped into her flesh like it was a ripe peach, he had gotten there too late. she had called for help, for him, but he wasn't

able to save her.

He carried her blood soaked body to the castle as quickly as he could, not wanting to take his horse for fear of hurting her worse.

But her eyes never opened.

She wasn't breathing.

Curse the fates, she couldn't die!

 **FOUR DAYS LATER**

"why do you insist on keeping this girl around, James? Princesses from all of our neighboring kingdoms are being married off and your going to lose your

opportunity for a queen" Queen Anne scolded James like a child, her hands waving wildly and her face red.

Sofia had been unconscious for almost a week and James had refused to leave her side except for baths

"because, mother, I do believe I'm falling for Sofia" James retorted angrily, he was tired of his mother constantly reminding him that he needed to get married.

He was perfectly aware that he needed a queen, and that's exactly what he was trying to achieve

"Anne, Dear, at least give James until the night of his ball to decide if Sofia is the girl he wants to marry, that's in one month. And James, If you are not engaged by then I will

have no choice but to choose a queen for you" King Roland spoke as the true King he was.

James knew his father was understanding because Roland had told him once that when he was a prince he fell in love with a village girl

named Emily but unfortunately she drowned weeks before their wedding, his father had been devastated and was forced to marry James's mother who was

a duchess.

They quickly fell in love but Roland never forgot about Emily which was why his mother was so against James and Sofia's relationship and James knew she

was going to be a problem. Thankfully Amber had gone to visit Zandar to make their wedding plans so she couldn't influence the situation like she was so

known for doing.

"Fine. until your ball then, but choose wisely James. one wrong decision could ruin you" Anne warned him as he was leaving but it sounded more like a

threat to James, he just turned his head and nodded.

One month.

That was plenty of time to figure everything out, especially with her being at the castle with him.

Sofia didn't move or hardly breath while James told her about the magic in the kingdom and about the fairies and sorcerers that kept it all a secret

"my father told me of far off lands where dragons and sorcerers were constant threats to civilization, but he told them as bedtime stories. Faerie tales" she

whispered, her facial expressions going from curiosity to excitement

"well, to my knowledge there are only four dragons left in the world, one at each corner of the earth, and they keep the elements in check. Sorcerers, however, are spread out

over the kingdoms. We have one here who keeps his workshop in the east tower" James told her, enjoying how big her sparkling blue eyes had gotten

"what do you mean the dragons keep the elements in check" Sofia asked dreamily

"as I said, there is a dragon at each corner of the earth caring for each element. Water, earth, wind and fire. If even one of them died magic would

cease to exist"

After an afternoon questions Sofia seemed content with her new found knowledge of magic and it was James's turn to ask her questions.

"Why didn't you go to live with another family in the village after your parents died?" he asked as he sat on the side of be bed and lightly played with a strand of her hair

"I didn't want to be a burden on anyone, they all have their own troubles and I couldn't bring myself to leave my parent's home" she answered softly staring

up at the canopy above her

"how did you survive?"

"oh I tend to my mother's garden, various villagers bring me extra meat if they have it, I chop wood for

my hearth and I took over my mother's place as the village seamstress"

James noticed how she always spoke of her things as 'her mother's' or 'her parent's' like nothing she had really belonged to her. _She must be so lonely all_

 _by herself_ he thought seeing the pain and stress playing on her angelic face.

James could never even imagine being all alone like that. James desperately wanted to make up for all the pain and heartbreak she had endured in her life.

To be the one she curled up to on cold nights.

To be the one she shared warm sunny days with.

The one to make all of her happy memories with.

James knew he cared deeply for Sofia, he just wasn't sure if it was because he loved her or if it was because of the sympathy he felt for her.

Sofia was beyond beautiful, selfless, kind and unique in the best ways.

but she was broken and he didn't know how to help her or if he ever could.

A week went by and Sofia's arms and chest healed beautifully, thanks to Cedric's magical ointment, and her bandages were able to be removed. When

James had brought her to the castle the dress she was wearing, which was torn and soaked in blood, had to be cut off of her so James had Madam Caltry

design a new one for her. While Sofia was being tended to and having her dress fit James waited, impatiently, in the library rehearsing his coronation

speech for the hundredth time. When he finally heard the heavy wooden doors open he anxiously turned around to see Sofia practically glowing.

"I look ridiculous" Sofia said teasingly as she twirled around to show off her new dress which was green, open on the top, the sleeves starting under her

shoulders and fanning down the length of her arms with pearls covering the front and spreading out into a floor length full skirt. Around her neck was an

emerald choker and matching necklace that hung down to the middle of her chest and her hair was pinned up on the top of her head, the curls cascading

down around her face and shoulders.

James was speechless, the contrast between the dress and her porcelain skin made her look more like a doll than before.

"you look amazing" he whispered taking both of her hands in his and gazing lovingly into her eyes causing her to blush and try to look away.

James slid his fingers under her chin, not allowing her to move her head and leaned down into a kiss as passionate and as deep as the one in her room had been

"two kisses in one day? I must be dreaming" Sofia said playfully pushing back from him

"If you keep tempting me we might go for three" James laughed pulling her back to him.


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't really have anything to say tonight, just want to connect with you guys real quick.**

 **I've officially written 7 chapters and things, in my opinion, are going awesome! I have a great developing fan base and have been getting some fantastic advise.**

 **As always I don't own any characters from Sofia the First nor do I own the locations throughout my story.**

 **I bid you a farewell and hope you enjoy yet another installation of A Sofia Story (Curtain fades to black as orchestra begins to play softly)**

 **XOXO**

 **Chapter 7**

Sofia could not recall ever enjoying herself as much as she had the last week and a half, even though she knew it would come to an abrupt end sooner than

she would like to think about. She was sure the king and Queen would get tired of their son playing with a village girl eventually. James had been so kind

and loving towards her during her healing process and she felt as though everyone thought she was naive but she wasn't an idiot, the feelings she had for

the handsome prince were childish. The ball where James was to find a queen was two and a half weeks away and Sofia's hopes were high that she would at

least be allowed to stay until the end of the week.

That afternoon James and Sofia were having their usual lunch in the gardens when Bailywick found them

"Your Majesty, Miss Sofia has a visitor" he spoke formally waiting for his instructions

"who is it, Bailywick?" he asked taking a sip of his tea

"a young man from the village, he insists he's Sofia's suitor"

James choked on his tea as Sofia sighed and rolled her eyes "Thomas"

Thomas was standing in front of his buggy with his hands behind his back when Sofia saw him, James holding her arm in his

"Oh Sofia!" He exclaimed

running to her and throwing his arms around her waist, ignoring the fact her arm was still around James's and Sofia didn't make any effort to return his

gesture "I was so worried, Ruby and Jade told me you had been injured and brought to the castle" Sofia shot him a skeptical glance

"Thomas, that was over a week ago. If you were so worried about her why didn't you attempt to see her sooner?" James asked accusingly

"Sofia, I was afraid you were still angry with me about our conversation the night of the ball" he admitted sheepishly still avoiding James

Sofia shook her head annoyed

"you were right, I am. But I appreciate you coming to see me. Please tell Ruby and Jade I miss them" she smiled halfheartedly and turned to go back into

the castle

"Sofia, I didn't just come to see you, I came to take you home" Thomas called sternly.

There was a deafening silence as James and Sofia both turned to look at him.

He wanted her to leave with him?

No. Not yet.

"I'm not leaving with you, Thomas. Not until James tells me to" Sofia answered coldly

"and in that case it's going to be a long time before she goes" James said smiling brightly at Sofia

"Did you not hear a word I told you the last time we spoke? You are NOTHING to him and your a fool if you think he could EVER love you. You belong in the

village with ME, fixing dresses and starting OUR family. you don't fit in here, and you never will" Thomas hissed and Sofia hung her head down.

Sofia was aware that Thomas was right She didn't love him and couldn't imagine marrying him but she knew fun time was over and it was time to go back

to her real life.

"She isn't leaving with you, and you have no idea what your talking about" James fumed, his nostrils flaring

"What do you want with her? Honestly" Thomas asked sarcastically mocking him. James didn't say anything and his expression softened Thomas snickered

"That's what I thought, Your Majesty" he said bowing and grabbing Sofia.

James and Sofia were staring at each other intently as she struggled out of Thomas's grasp and ran over to him, clinging to James for dear life as their lips

crashed together.

To her it was a goodbye kiss.

An end of something sincerely magical in a new found world of magic.

Sofia had gotten to do what every village girl and princess had only dreamed of doing.

She had spent almost two weeks in the loving arms of the most handsome prince in the world.

when Sofia finally pulled away from her prince they were both breathing hard

"Thank you for everything" she whispered in his ear and grazed her lips down to his cheek where she planted a soft kiss.

She stared into his burning emerald eyes one last time and smiled, his expression making it seem like he wanted

to say something but didn't know how.

when she turned around she saw the shock and disgust on Thomas's face and fought to hold back a laugh as she took her place beside him.

"Your Majesty, I apologize for my companion's behavior and pray you dismiss it as I shall" Sofia said as convincing as she could composing herself and

curtsying to him.

Sofia and Thomas rode back to the village silently and she already missed James.

His voice.

His Heart stopping smile.

How comfortable she was around him.

The way he would hold her close as they would lie in the gardens staring at the stars.

She wasn't afraid of the dark when she was with him, she knew as long as she was with him she would be ok.

Sofia knew she was in love with him but she didn't dare admit it, even to herself. It was too painful.

The cottage was the same. Same walls. Same hearth. Same everything. But it wasn't welcoming as it had been before. It seemed dark and empty.

Empty.

The way it felt after her parents died, and it took a year after that before Sofia could sleep without crying. She felt silly, she had only been gone a short

time, she chalked it up to the fact she had been spoiled at the castle.

She would be fine. Right?

The dress she was wearing was the green one from the castle and as she replaced it with a brown and red dress her mother had made for her when she was

thirteen she felt like a snake shedding it's skin. more comfortable but vulnerable in a way.

As the sun set around her cottage Sofia couldn't seem to get the hearth bright enough, her anxiety getting the best of her.

She knew at that moment that she was damaged mentally.

She had gone so long without real love that she had accepted the prince toying with her emotions so easily, a bigger part of her

than she had previously thought had truly and foolishly believed that she had a shot with James and now she realized he had only felt sorry for her.

Bitter tears ran down her burning cheeks not only because of her new found realization but because even despite that fact she didn't know what to do

without him.

For the first time in almost two weeks she was scared.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

It had been two days since Sofia left the castle, Jade and Ruby had shown up at her house the morning after she got home and hadn't left yet. Snow was

falling fast and in large flakes that were covering the forest in white as Sofia and the girls stared out the window beside the door. It had gotten cold early

this year, usually November was mild.

Winter was Sofia's favorite season. She loved wearing scarves and long socks, curling up in front of the hearth with one of her father's fairytale books and

eating soup. In other circumstances Sofia would have been ecstatic, pulling on her warm clothes and going out to play, but she needed to finish the sweets

for the royal festival that was scheduled for that afternoon.

"Sofia, the pumpkin bread is done" Ruby said quickly pulling it out of the hearth

"Thank you, Ruby. Jade are the carrot cakes cooled enough for the icing yet?" Sofia asked the frustrated looking girl at her counter

"Uh, yeah. but the stupid icing wont set up" Jade growled at the bowl. Sofia and Ruby giggled going over to help her

"It just needs more sugar, don't worry" Sofia told her fixing it

"I hate cooking" Jade grumbled as she started icing the cakes

"well you have to learn, your going to get married eventually" Ruby reminded her

"Not if Alex keeps courting Sara Kilsman" Jade sighed referring to a boy she had been infatuated with since she was eleven

"Why don't you let Mikael court you?" Sofia suggested as she put the newly iced cakes, bread and preserves in her festival basket

"He was talking about you the other day, Jade, why don't you give him a chance?" Ruby pushed the idea further and Jade crinkled her nose

"That would be like Sofia choosing Thomas over Prince James, there's no contest" Jade said sourly and Ruby laughed.

Sofia's breath caught in her throat, her chest felt tight and she felt tears welling up in her eyes, she hadn't stopped thinking about James by any means but

having the girls around had been helping her anxiety. The way they talked about Sofia and James's relationship so freely hit her hard

"Oh Sofia I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking!" Jade exclaimed crushing Sofia in hug

"Neither was I, we should have been more cautious" Ruby said joining the hug.

Sofia shrugged the both of them off "I'm crazy, aren't I?" She asked choking back sobs

"No, of course not. If you were as messed up as you thought you were you would be in love with Thomas, and you aren't are you?" Ruby asked confidently

"No. I never thought of that" Sofia said perking up "See, Prince James is the crazy one for letting you leave" Ruby said rubbing her back soothingly

"Remember what we discussed, you will see him at the festival"

Sofia had told the girls everything that had happened at the castle and about the fact she thought James had only felt sorry for her despite his actions. Jade

and Ruby both had their interpretations of the situation, of course, but the majority vote was that she confront James at the royal festival and find out the

truth.

Sofia was afraid to know what he really thought, but if he didn't tell her she would never let him go.

"I know, you guys are he only reason I'm going to this thing and I thank you for forcing me into it" Sofia smiled wiping away the tears from her cheeks

"what are best friends for?" Ruby laughed jokingly

The walk to the village was cold and snow was accumulating on the girl's hoods. Sofia had bundled herself in a white knee length cotton dress, white wool

knee socks, white wool gloves, a grey knitted scarf and a white riding hood with a blue snowflake embroidered on the back. Unfortunately ruby and Jade

had not anticipated snow. They were only wearing long sleeved dresses, knee socks and boots

"S-Sofia, we w-w-will meet up with you a-at the b-b-b-booth. We n-n-need warm clothes" Jade chattered and Sofia nodded heading into the square.

Villagers were gathered around a bonfire they had built beside the royal tent for warmth, Sofia set her seller's booth up and went to join them.

Sofia spotted Thomas coming over to her and she immediately focused all of her attention on the hungry flames of the fire

"Sofia, I was hoping you would come today" he said taking her hand in his, she pulled her hand back not looking at him "I know your still mad that I ruined

your little _vacation_ " sarcasm heavily coating his words.

The frown on Sofia's face grew deeper but she still ignored him

"What did you think was going to happen, Sofia? that he was going to marry you?" Thomas laughed

"She has a better chance of marrying the prince than you marrying her, Thomas" Jade defended Sofia pushing her way in front of him

"If you don't mind, Jade, I was going to ask Sofia to go on a walk with me" Thomas said annoyed

"Why don't you go take a walk, alone"

Ruby pointed her finger in the direction of the street

"Fine, but this isn't over. I'll see you later Sofia" Thomas threatened as he walked away

"ugh, the nerve of that guy" Jade said incredulously

"you ok Sofia?" Ruby asked concerned

"I'm fine. I can't believe I used to think he was nice, maybe I am crazy" Sofia laughed

Ruby and Jade hugged Sofia

"Stop saying that Sofia" Ruby whispered

"I was only joking guys" Sofia said wishing they didn't have to walk on egg shells around her

"you know the saying, if you tell a lie too many times you start to believe the lie. Your not crazy, your in love" Jade looked into her eyes to make sure Sofia

was understanding what she meant. Sofia gave Jade a small smile

"I'm in love with the prince. Sounds crazy to me"

Before the girls could argue Sofia's sanity further they heard the trumpets sound, the royal family was approaching.

Sofia was ready to face James.

She deserved the truth.

 **Yeah I know what your thinking "But TDP, this was supposed to be a JAMES chapter! where's the epic confession of love? THE FLUFF?"**

 **Well I went a little off on this one, but I'm not sorry, I needed to hit on Sofia's heartbreak a bit more.**

 **The next one will be James, I promise :D**

 **Until Next time!**

 **XOXO**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Sofia had been gone two days and James couldn't stop thinking about her. Every time he saw the rainbows on the dining room wall he thought of her in her villager's ball

dress and their first kiss, the stars reminded him of the nights they would spend sprawled out in the gardens finding constellations. James couldn't eat, he would lie awake at

night thinking about her and his daydreams were interfering with his princely duties.

James was sure his feelings for Sofia were pure the moment she left. If all he had was sympathy for her he wouldn't miss her so strongly or be so lonely without her, he would

just be worried she was lonely.

James knew Sofia loved him too. Between the way she had kissed him goodbye and the look in her eyes before she left there was no doubt in his mind. They were meant to

be together.

"I'm so proud of you James" he heard his mother gush, she had been talking for a while but he wasn't paying attention

"For?" he asked dazed slowly realizing he was sitting at the dining table

"Haven't you been listening? for finally coming to your senses and getting rid of that village girl" she smiled like she had won a bet

"Sofia, mother, her name is Sofia. and I didn't 'get rid' of her" James snapped

"What do you mean? you let her leave" Anne accused him pointing towards the village and he stood up

"Please, mother. Let me deal with my love life. I still have two weeks before you get to interfere" James sighed tiredly but didn't wait for his mother to answer before he

stormed out.

James knew what he had done to Sofia was wrong, he should have told her he loved her and persuaded her stay but he couldn't bring himself to say it out of anger, he

wanted it to be special. Thomas was really getting on his last nerve, James knew he wasn't a threat to His and Sofia's relationship but something needed to be done about his

persistence and obsession with her.

James understood why Thomas felt so protective of Sofia, she was worth fighting for but Thomas wasn't the only one who could fight.

James was sure that Sofia wanted and needed him like he wanted and needed her.

The royal festival was later that afternoon and he would talk to her there.

James dressed warmly since it was snowing outside, and found his great aunt's wedding ring which was left to him to use when he proposed. James knew his mother was

going to have a conniption fit but he didn't really care, he loved Sofia and was going to make her his wife.

The King and queen were waiting in their black and gold festival coach, Amber was still away making wedding plans with Zandar and James secretly wished she was there to

give him advice. His twin might be annoying and petty but when it came to courting she was pretty smart, though he would never admit it to her.

Everyone in the village was cheering as the royal carriage came into view.

James loved the royal festival because he actually got to participate in the festivities instead of just spectating. He scanned the crowd for Sofia but didn't see her. When they

arrived at the royal tent James was happy to see a roaring bonfire but when he saw Sofia standing in front of it dressed all in white like some kind of winter goddess he

couldn't breath.

Sofia's bright blue eyes sparkled and she was smiling brighter, in James's opinion, than she should have been as she was talking to Jade and Ruby and playfully shoving them

both.

"Announcing King Roland, Queen Anne and the crowned prince James" Bailywick boomed and everyone bowed except Sofia who, at the mention of his name, caught his eye.

James felt a shock course through his body, he wanted to run to her and take her in his arms but before he could think of a route to get to her through the crowd her arms

were already around his neck.

James tightly wrapped his arms around her waist, the crowd was silent and he heard his mother curse under her breath.

Every eye was on them but neither of them cared, they were lost in each other

"Yay Sofia!" James heard someone say and a sea of applause brought both of the lovers out of their solace.

Sofia blushed and looked up at James, neither of them said anything as James took her hand and lead them away from the crowd.

The sky took a break from snowing and allowed the sun to grace them with it's presence causing the white ground to sparkle.

Sofia and James walked through the forest, James didn't know where they were going but he didn't care as long as it was with her. They finally came to

an adorable cottage that sat all alone in the middle of a small clearing

"Is this your home?" James asked looking down at Sofia who had a hold of his arm and she nodded "Why did you bring me here?" he whispered

"You kept asking me questions about it, so I wanted you to see for yourself" she said smiling and pulling him inside.

The interior of the house was simple, a fireplace, a table, four chairs, a bed, and a wash basin.

It looked sad, like there was no life inside despite the smell of fresh baked bread.

James wasn't happy with how far out of the village she had settled, if something was to happen to her no one would know for days.

He was taking her back to the castle with him, his Sofia deserved more than this shell of a life.

"Sofia" James said softly taking both of her hands in his and sitting on her bed "I've been thinking a lot about you and me. I know we left some questions unanswered, but I

want you to know you never left my head. I can't forget how happy I was when you were with me" he said pulling the ring from his breast pocket, getting on one knee in front

of her not letting her hand go and Sofia gasped "Watching you ride away from me was the hardest thing I have ever done. What I'm trying to say is, I love you, Sofia. Will you

be my wife?" James slid the ring on Sofia's small finger and to his amazement it fit her perfectly, he looked up at her excited face as a tear rolled down her cheek

"Oh James" She sighed happily "I've missed you so much and I love you too, Of course I'll marry you!" Sofia pounced on James and they both fell to the floor, their lips

meeting feverishly.

The couple made their way back to the village not knowing how long they had been gone, and frankly James didn't care but Sofia wanted to help her friends in the market and

they were going to announce their engagement.

The kids of the village were having a snowball fight as Sofia and James returned and James was pelted in the back of the

head, he spun around to see where the blast had come from and noticed a group of boys scattering

"I'll be back, love. I've been called away to battle" he told his fiancée who was laughing hysterically

"make me proud, sire" she told him between giggles and he gathered up ammunition and waged a full on snow war.

When James's team had won he looked for Sofia to get his congratulatory kiss but he didn't see her

"Sofia!?" he called looking for her but she was nowhere to be seen.

James figured her friends had found her and were making wedding plans somewhere. He went to their booth in the market and found Ruby and Jade but Sofia wasn't with

them

"Ruby, Jade" James said politely

"Your Majesty" they answered in unison and curtsied with knowing smirks on their faces

"Have you seen Sofia?" he asked casually

"No, the last we saw she was with you" Jade teased and James began to get worried

"If you see her tell her I was here" James told them laughing at Jade's boldness.

He walked around the square and finally found Sofia arguing with Thomas

"Sofia, you can't MARRY him!" Thomas yelled getting far to close to her face

"I am, Thomas. I don't know what else I can say, I've already explained everything to you" Sofia said calmly backing away from him

"Some things are better left alone, Thomas" James interrupted

"oh great, Sofia your guard dog is here" Thomas scoffed throwing his arms in the air in defeat

"Thomas, James is your future King. Show him some respect. I'm surprised he has allowed you to speak to him in that manner as long as you have" Sofia defended James

proudly

"HA! maybe if I was a beautiful village girl he wouldn't care, huh James? I'm sure you've slept with your share of commoners, what did you run out of princesses to take to

your bed?" Thomas ranted sourly.

James was ready to punch Thomas for spreading those filthy lies about him, especially in the presence of his fiancee and the future queen of Enchancia when a loud POP!

echoed off the village store walls.

It took James a moment to absorb what had happened. Thomas was on the ground holding his face in his hands and Sofia was standing over

him, her face red and her hands at her sides. She was breathing hard, an expression on her face that sent chills down James's spine. Sofia knelt down in front of Thomas and

in a very calm, very scary and, James noted, really sexy voice said "Don't you dare disrespect my fiancé again"

Sofia stood up, straightened out her skirt and turned to James

"I believe we have an engagement to announce" she said, her hair and eyes wild with emotions

"Whoa, wait a second. Are you ok?" James asked laughing and holding on to her shoulders

"I'm fine. He's just lucky I talked to him instead of kicking him like I was going to" She said as Thomas ran off to tend to his broken ego

"you didn't have to do that, you know. I was going to take care of it" James said his ego slightly bruised as well

"Oh, I'm sure. I acted on impulse, you can hit him next time dear" She laughed, James shook his head and kissed her.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Sofia's hand stung as she stood up in front of the entire village.

All of her friends and neighbors gathered around her and James awaiting their news, Jade and Ruby were standing on her left, per her request, James was

standing on her right and the King and Queen were behind them. The pressure was immense.

Sofia had her hands behind her back so no one saw the giant pear shaped diamond ring that was weighing down her finger.

"I'm sorry to take you all away from the remainder of the festival" James began apologetically "As you all know I will be King of Enchancia soon and will be

taking a queen" he continued smiling "Now traditionally you all wouldn't be introduced to your queen until after the wedding, but in this case I wanted you

to be the first to know" James paused, all the eyes in Dunwitty were on Sofia. Some villagers looked pleased but others, mainly the unwed boys, were

solemn "Dunwitty, I am pleased to announce the future Queen of Enchancia SOFIA!" James grabbed Sofia's hand to show off her ring and she was suddenly

engulfed in hugs from Ruby and Jade.

The village center was roaring with applause and excited hollering.

James pulled her away from the screaming, gushing girls and they both faced his parents, his father was smiling brightly but his mother had a sour look on

her gorgeous face

"I'm glad you finally found your happiness, son" King Roland congratulated him smiled at Sofia "Welcome to the family, Daughter" He took her hands and

kissed them.

A wave of emotion hit Sofia like a brick wall.

Daughter? She hadn't expected that.

Of course he would never replace her real dad, but he was willing to accept her into his family

Anne was pleasant, although not as welcoming as the King had been

"Congratulations" She said with a small smile and turned away.

Sofia was hurt that the queen wasn't happier for her son but James had told her that his mother was set on making him marry a princess so she wouldn't

over think it.

"Are you ready, Sofia?" James asked as he turned her toward his carriage

"ready?" She laughed, her ring hand being taken captive once again by her elated friends

"to go to the castle, our home" he replied like it was obvious Sofia was momentarily caught off guard, she hadn't figured he wanted her to immediately

move in with him.

"What about the cottage?" she asked suddenly worried

"what do you mean?" he answered passively

"what is going to happen to my parent's home?" she asked again, this time more sternly than before

"I could take it over for you, Sofia" Jade told her still holding her hand "you know I would take care of it"

Sofia knew she would and would like if it stayed with someone she trusted "I suppose that would be ok, but are you sure you want me to move into the

castle so soon? The wedding won't be for three weeks" Sofia argued his logic

"you and I will be together forever, and I want every moment of your forever that I have left" James put his finger under her chin and raised her up for

another kiss.

The ride to the castle was beautiful, the once flower covered fields were white and sparkled like diamonds

"Sofia I would like to apologize for not visiting you during your last visit" King Roland told her sympathetically

"oh please don't apologize, your majesty, I was asleep for most of it" they both laughed

"I didn't see your father at the festival, Sofia, is he against your marriage?" Queen Anne asked hopefully as she looked at Sofia for the first time.

Sofia had figured James told his parents about her being an orphan and now that she was on the spot she wasn't sure what to say.

James glared at his mother

"both of my parents passed away, your majesty" Sofia whispered

"an illegitimate? James you didn't tell us she was illegitimate" Anne said shocked

"She was orphaned mother, that doesn't make her illegitimate" James defended

"Do you have a last name, girl?" Anne snapped and Sofia sighed

"No, your majesty, it was taken from me" in her kingdom when a girl loses her father she no longer has a last name, the same goes for

widowed women when they lose their husbands

She will have a last name after our wedding, mother" James said holding Sofia tightly

"it's against the law for orphans to avoid the orphanage, Isn't it Roland? She needs to be sent to the workhouse, not wearing my crown" she continued

hatefully

"if I had been informed of the incident when it had happened then yes, Sofia would have gone to the orphanage, but since she is of age now and our son is

in love with her I think we can drop it" Roland told his wife cautiously.

Sofia was shaking both from the cold and for fear that she would be sent away, James tightened his grasp around her waist comfortingly

"Sure, sure. lets make an exception to a law just because our son is confused and has decided to contaminate his home with an outsider" Anne began but

James and his father both fumed

"ENOUGH" which made her flinch and effectively silenced her.

When they finally arrived at the castle James practically carried Sofia inside.

"I'm sorry, Sofia. I don't understand where mother's head has been lately" he told her as he pulled her into his room.

Sofia remained quiet as she watched her prince fall backwards onto his bed

"she just wants what she thinks is best for you, James, and apparently she doesn't think I am" she whispered mournfully sitting beside him

"well she hasn't gotten to know you like I have or she would be as happy for me as I am" James smiled pulling her down

"JAMES!" she laughed trying to pull herself back up but his hold on her was too strong and he pinned her down

"don't let her get to you, love "he whispered as he stared down at her lovingly

"Dad approves and so does the village, this is your home now and your place is at my side. Everything is perfect" Sofia could stare at him forever and she

felt so incomprehensibly lucky that she would get to.

James would be the first person she saw in the morning and the last person she would see at night. Sofia's life up until the point she met James had been

dull and pointless but now she felt like she had a reason to exist.

She was going to start a family and rule a kingdom with this man, have his children, make memories that she never thought possible and take care of the

village that taken care of her so well

"I love you, James" Sofia gushed wrapping her thin arms around his muscular torso

"I love you too, Sofia" he whispered as he flipped her on top of him with ease not breaking their embrace "more than I could ever express" he continued

softly running his hands through her thick hair.

The two of them laid in his bed, her head on his chest and their hands intertwined, for what felt like hours

"are you hungry?" James asked Sofia who's stomach began growling.

She hadn't had time to eat before the festival and with everything that had transpired she didn't eat during the festival either

"Yeah, I haven't eaten yet today" Sofia said casually snuggling closer to him

"you haven't eaten today?" James asked horrified

"No, but it's not that big of a deal" Sofia retorted wondering why he was being so cryptic

"Lets go to the dining hall" he persisted and pulled her out of the bed

"I'm coming" Sofia laughed falling to the floor.

The dining hall was glorious, the lit hearth at the opposite side of the room was gigantic and had two suits of armor on each side in their own archways, the

window on the right took up the entire wall and you could see the whole village and the table it's self was almost the entire length of the room.

In the time Sofia had spent in the castle before she hardly ever left her room besides to go out to the gardens so everything was new to her.

Sofia noticed that the king and queen were seated and already eating when they came in, she immediately felt under dressed when she saw the queen's

yellow gown and she seemed to notice as well

"Ah, James, Sofia I'm glad you are joining us. We need to finalize the ball details since it will now be an engagement announcement and also we need to

begin wedding plans" Roland said happily and the queen rolled her eyes but made sure only Sofia saw

"yes, your majesty" Sofia said politely as a servant set a plate of strange looking food in front of her

"Sofia, call me dad. Your going to be my daughter after all" he bellowed finishing a bowl of brown goo

"yes, yo-dad" she said awkwardly. James laughed and poked her in her side playfully

"you'll get used to it, Sof, just like you'll get used to calling mom, mom" he snickered.

Sofia noted that she liked her new nickname but she wasn't sure if Anne would ever let her call her 'mom'

"Your right, James. So, dad what kind of changes need to be made to the ball?" Sofia asked helpfully

"you don't know anything about the ball, girl, so you can't possibly understand the changes" Anne sighed annoyed

"well mother why don't you fill her in on the details then" James offered as nicely as he could and Anne snorted

"she shouldn't even be coming. she can't even get dressed for dinner" Anne continued.

Sofia couldn't take anymore of Anne's criticism

"excuse me" she said trying not to cry as she hurriedly left the room.

James called after her but she didn't turn around, she wouldn't give that woman the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

Sofia got lost in the castle's hallways and wasn't able to find her room. James had apparently decided to give her some space, which she was glad for but it

would be nice to be redirected

"you'd think with as many servants as this place has someone would be around to give directions" Sofia said aloud to no one

"what are you doing here?" a man's voice asked her curiously

"Hello?" she called out hoping that someone had finally found her

"you need to turn back around, this wing isn't for you" the man's voice called

"I'm lost, can you help me?" she asked hopefully

"just follow the light" the voice said and when Sofia turned around there was a glowing ball of light that was moving back down the hallway

"Thank you!" she called out running to catch up to it.

Sofia wondered how the man made a light for her to follow when suddenly an idea struck her. He must have been a sorcerer!


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

James paced his room waiting for Sofia to come back, he wanted to give her some space after what his mother had put her through but she had been gone a long time.

He decided if she wasn't back in five minuets he was going to send a search party to find her

"James?" he heard the familiar voice he had been waiting for

"SOFIA!" he exclaimed rushing up to hug her

"I was so worried" his voice was muffled by her neck

"I'm sorry, I tried to find the room but I got lost" she admitted embarrassed as her stomach began to growl loudly

"you never got to eat" James smacked his palm against his head and pulled on the cord by his bed

"It's ok" Sofia reassured him

"No, it's not. My mother is being childish about this whole thing. She isn't even trying to be civil and now your starving" he complained wishing she would go ahead and leave

for the estate early

"She just doesn't like the idea of me, I don't take it personally because we've never talked" Sofia hugged him again and he sighed. Sofia was too nice sometimes, a slap in the

face like she gave Thomas would be more effective than giving Anne the benefit of the doubt

There was a knock on the door

"Enter" James called pulling Sofia back over to the bed

"Your Majesty, what can I get for you?" a red headed boy asked

"A plate of food for Miss Sofia and a bottle of our finest wine" he said smiling

"Yes, your majesty" he left and Sofia looked at James skeptically

"Wine? what's that?" she asked confused

"It's made from grapes and fermented until it gains alcoholic qualities, you'll love it" James had forgotten that the villagers weren't allowed alcoholic beverages and he was

excited that she was going to try it for the first time with him.

The boy brought a plate of smoked salmon and asparagus back with him as well as a bottle of red wine with two glasses and left.

Sofia sat on the bed and ate her food slowly watching James pour the wine into the glasses

"here you go" he handed a half full glass to her "here's to us" he said and clinked his glass to hers

"What was that for?" she asked swallowing a bite of fish

"It's called a toast, it brings good luck" James laughed taking a sip of the red liquid.

Sofia sat her plate down on the table next to the bed and smelled the wine, crinkling her nose and looking at James with a conflicted look on her face

"Try it" he urged still laughing at her

"Ok.." she hesitated but brought the glass to her lips and took a long drink.

Sofia's eyes lit up and she smiled brightly

"That's delicious" she said and finished off her glass

"Hey now, slow down love" he said filling up their glasses with more of the red liquid.

James had been served wine since he was thirteen and wasn't affected by it as much as he used to be but he could tell Sofia was feeling lightheaded.

They were on their third glass of wine and she was hanging upside down off the bed with her hands on the floor

"You know what's weird?" she asked slightly slurring her words

"What?" James asked lying on the bed beside her

"Upside down things, there just like normal things but upside down" she started laughing hysterically at her own words

"Well we know someone can't hold their alcohol, come back up here" he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up but instead of sitting up she slumped over into his lap

"You, my dear, are drunk" he laughed

"I need to go to bed" she decided pointing towards the door with her head still in his lap

"I'll carry you ok?" he told her and she nodded her head which he pulled up to his and kissed her.

The kiss lasted longer than any other they had shared, James deepening it as much as he could. Their tongues danced as Sofia struggled to focus but soon lost the battle to

sleep. She was lightly snoring when James realized she had fallen asleep

"Well, that's for the best" he told his sleeping beauty as he picked her up and carried her to her room.

James tucked Sofia in and mentally scolded himself for letting her get drunk, he was just glad he didn't do anything stupid.

The next two weeks went by fast, Sofia and James were practically inseparable and his mother was growing more and more determined to break them up.

Anne had taken Sofia on a walk in the gardens which James tried to talk Sofia out but she insisted that his mother was finally making an effort to be friends. About an hour

after the ladies had began their walk Sofia came to him in tears questioning their entire relationship because his mother had lied and told her that his father left Emily for her

because, as all princes do eventually, he came to his senses and married a princess and that Emily had killed herself. James had to explain the truth to Sofia about Emily

drowning in a pond while they were swimming and that his mother wasn't even a princess.

After that incident Sofia was more timid when it came to Anne being nice to her.

The day of James and Sofia's ball she spent the afternoon in the seamstress's room getting a new dress fitted.

James remembered the way she had looked in her simple green dress and his curiosity of how this dress would look got him through setting up the ball.

He got dressed early so he wouldn't have to rush later. He was wearing a Maroon overcoat over a black shirt with a black tie, tan pants and black boots. He made his way to

the ball room and found his mother buzzing around calling out orders. When she saw him she beckoned for him to join her

"Now you and Sofia will walk down together and join us at our thrones" his mother instructed

"You aren't going to see her until tonight so you will have to guide her" she added distantly

"When do we announce our engagement?" James asked casually

"Hopefully never" Anne whispered hoping James didn't hear but he did

"Mother. I am already engaged to Sofia and I would like the other kingdoms to know how happy I am" he reminded her and she sighed

"You announce _the monstrosity_ after your father welcomes everyone and before the first dance, that belongs to the two of you" she held her head like she was in pain and

walked away.

James was tired of the way his mother was treating the situation and he hoped that she wouldn't interfere tonight.

He made his way to the kitchen searching for the chocolate truffles he had asked for and when he found them he noticed that each of them had a little red heart drawn on

with icing. James smiled and popped one in his mouth

"Those are for tonight, you know" he heard Sofia giggle.

James whipped around and saw her dressed in a maroon dress that matched his coat with black ribbon outlining the top and white lace down the front, her hair was piled up

on her head and she had a black choker that spread down her neck to her chest.

She looked like a queen

"I thought you were going to be in there all day" he beamed walking over and kissing her briefly

"So did I, but the dress was almost done when I met with her and she had Courtney fix my hair and makeup while she finished it"

"Remind me to thank them later, I missed you" he admitted taking her hand and leading her into the ball room.

Guests began showing up and James and Sofia were instructed to wait in the hallway until Bailywick fetched them

"I'm nervous" Sofia told James as she squeezed his hand until it began to go numb

"Don't be. these are my closest friends and allies. We are going to be spending a lot of time with all of them in the future and they will be glad we

are happy" James comforted her

"I hope your right" she said taking his arm.

"Your majesty, Miss Sofia, your up" Bailywick told them holding the door open. The ballroom was full of people and James felt Sofia hesitate a little bit

"Everything will be fine" he whispered in her ear and smiled at their guests.

They made it down the stairs and over to their thrones with everyone's eyes on them, James was confident but he knew Sofia was having issues.

Sofia's throne had been made the day before and this was the first time either of them were seeing it, it was gold with blue velvet on the back and

the seat, pearls outlined the back of the seat and diamonds outlined them. It definitely suited her and he was thrilled.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, This is the last ball I will be attending as the king of Enchancia and I want to thank each and every one of you for joining us. The last twenty two

years have been great but I couldn't ask for a better heir to take my throne than my son, James. I hope you all treat him with the respect and love you've shown me" Roland

praised and James was filled with pride "now, speaking of James, he has an announcement for you all" Roland turned to James and Sofia and nodded.

They both stood, James took Sofia's hand, and they walked forward

"Thank you all again for joining us tonight for such a special occasion" James started smiling

"As you all know, next week I will be crowned king of Enchancia and I would like to introduce to you my queen. Sofia!" James was excited as everyone cheered. He led Sofia

on the floor and they shared the first dance

"See, everyone is happy for us" James reassured Sofia as they twirled around the room like they had at the first ball


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

When their dance was over everyone clapped and began dancing themselves.

James led Sofia back over to their thrones but before they could get seated a prince wedged his way in between them

"Hey James" he greeted him nicely and Sofia was excited to meet one of James's friends

"What do you want Hugo?"James sighed annoyed and Sofia realized that she was wrong

"I was just wondering who this enchanting woman is that you are forcing to marry you" he smirked leering at her awkwardly

"I am not forcing her to marry me, moron" James took her hand and started to walk away

"Oh I was joking, come back and let me introduce myself" Hugo called after them

"Oh Hugo, let my brother be happy for once could you?" Amber's voice rang out

"Amber!" James smiled joyously

"So sorry I'm late, little brother, but I just couldn't pull Zandar away from his father" Amber rolled her eyes jokingly and hugged James

"It's fine, Amber you remember Sofia" he introduced them quickly and Amber nodded

"Yes, of course. The girl from the village. Congratulations and I'm happy for the two of you, I just wish I could have had a sister while I was still living here" she smiled and

playfully sneered at James.

Sofia wasn't sure how to take her comment but she hoped that one of the other women in James's life would approve of her

"Thank you, I hope we can be friends" Sofia smiled

Amber, to Sofia's amazement hugged her and took her hand

"Ok, little brother, we're going to go mingle with some of my friends now. You've kept her to yourself long enough"

Sofia sent James a pleading look, she had never 'mingled' with princesses before but James just shrugged his shoulders unable to stop her

"Ladies, this is my future sister-in-law Sofia" Amber announced to a circle of very formal looking girls

"your the village girl James fell for huh?" one of them asked snottily

"Yes" Sofia answered meekly

"Ignore Clio, she was certain James was going to ask her to marry him. She's just jealous" another girl replied fanning herself with a beautiful red fan

"Hildy, that was not called for. apologize to Clio" Amber demanded and the she sighed

"fine, sorry. But Sofia you are absolutely gorgeous and I think James made a good choice. You can't even tell your not of royal blood" Hildy complimented Sofia

She immediately felt uncomfortable, but Sofia knew she would have to be friends with these girls so she should do her best to make a good impression

"Hello ladies" Sofia heard Hugo say behind her and they all rolled their eyes

"Hugo" Hildy sighed annoyed

"what is she the only one that's going to talk to me?" he asked faking a hurt expression

"yes. And that's only because she's engaged to your brother" Amber retorted sourly

"What about you?" Hugo gestured towards Sofia and she knew that since James didn't like him that she wouldn't either

"what about me?" she asked confused

"would you care to dance, flower?" his words made Sofia's stomach churn, 'flower'? what was he trying to do

"Ugh, go dance with him Sofia. Maybe then he will go away" Clio said bored

"I'd rather not, I'm going to go find James" Sofia tried to push past Hugo but he caught her arm in an iron tight grasp

"one dance" he whispered harshly in her ear and pulled her against her will out to the floor.

The dance was long, Sofia saw James watching them intently with an angry expression and Sofia tried to tell him to come get her.

Hugo had an unnecessarily tight grip on her waist and her hand

"your hurting me" Sofia complained trying to move his hand from her waist

"don't squirm so much, I'm enjoying James so upset" he laughed.

Sofia was appalled at his behavior, he was supposed to be a prince but he was acting just like Thomas

"your a horrible person" she told him hatefully

"shut up, nobody wants you here you know, I could take you home with me and James wouldn't even care" Hugo laughed.

When the song ended he let go of Sofia, who was trying to get away from him, causing her to fall backwards and everyone laughed

"Liar! don't you ever touch me again" Sofia screamed and James helped her up as he glared at Hugo

"what is going on!?" he asked pushing her behind him

"she asked me to dance, I don't know why she is being so rude" Hugo lied straightening his jacket

"Don't listen to him James, he forced her to dance with him" Clio said defending her while Amber and Hildy nodded furiously.

The laughter stopped, no one spoke and all their eyes were on the three of them

"what did you say to her?" James demanded through clenched teeth

"Only the truth, James. No one wants her here" he said casually shrugging his shoulders

"is that so? Well then, friends, if anyone has an issue with me marrying Sofia besides the fact I didn't choose you or jealousy then come forward" Sofia looked around the

room, she felt awful for causing such a scene but no one moved

"no one? Well that's shocking, I could have sworn Hugo just said nobody wanted her here" James snarled "I want everyone to know right now that I love

this woman, royal blood or not, and I will be with her as long as she will have me. So on that note I bid you all goodnight and I hope you enjoy the rest of

the ball" James took Sofia's hand and led her out of the ball room not looking back at his guests

"James?" Sofia asked timidly as they walked into his room

"yes Sof?" he replied once again collapsing on his bed

"I'm sorry" her voice cracked but she was trying not to cry

"no, now you didn't do anything wrong, love" he told her sitting up and holding his arms out for her to join him. Sofia ran across the room,

jumped in his lap and buried her head in his chest taking in how amazing he smelled

"I tried to find you, I swear, but he grabbed me" Sofia sobbed showing him the bruise forming on her arm

"I'll kill him" James whispered kissing her arm softly

"don't do anything rash, darling" Sofia was worried James might actually kill him

"I think it's time we went and found Cedric" James spoke with a small smirk forming on his lips.

James walked with Sofia down corridors she remembered from when she got lost

"your majesty, what do I owe this pleasure" a man's voice asked and Sofia recognized it as the man who helped her when she was lost

"I need a barrier spell. Hugo is no longer allowed in Enchancia" James ordered

"does Miss Sofia agree?" Cedric asked curiously

"uh, yes?" Sofia wasn't sure why he needed her permission

"you both must be sure that you no longer want him here or the spell will not hold up" he informed them

"we are, Cedric. We appreciate your help" James thanked him

"it will take an hour for my spell to take effect so make sure he is gone by that time or the spell will reverse and he will be stuck here" Cedric laughed at the thought and

James shook his head

"oh, he will be gone. Trust me"

"what happens if he tries to come into the kingdom while the spell is in effect?" Sofia asked hoping for the best

"he will simply be redirected back to his home" Cedric reassured her

Sofia waited for James to return from telling Hugo to leave, she wanted to talk to Cedric more about magic

"where are you?" she asked looking around for a door

"in my workshop where I keep my potions and spell books" he said casually

"could I see it?" she asked hopefully

"not until you are officially queen. My shop is invisible to non royalty, it's a law" he told her apologetically

"so next week then?" she rejoiced

"yes, the night after your wedding I will be placing a spell on you so you can use magic and also since you haven't been educated i will be making a simple potion to help you

learn fast"

Sofia was excited and scared about learning more about magic. Before she could ask anymore questions James came back

"Hugo is gone" he said proudly hugging Sofia tightly

"I must be getting back to my work. Will see you soon Miss Sofia" Cedric said pleasantly

"until then Cedric, thank you" Sofia called and with that James led Sofia back to her room


	13. Chapter 13

**Ok, so first off I'm sorry for the delay on this chapter I've had a strange last couple of days but I am back!**

 **Now I've had a couple people ask me about Cedric's part in all of this and here is my answer:**

 **As you have read in my previous chapters Magic is forbidden and hidden from the common world. It is a royal luxury. So he has been pretty much hidden from Sofia except when he helped her get back to James and in the last chapter with the Hugo situation.**

 **In my last chapter I explained that once Sofia is deemed a royal she would be able to witness magical occurrences and Cedric was going to give her the learning potion.**

 **So he will be a bigger part of it in later chapters.**

 **And I know I've made him friendly unlike how he is actually portrayed but since I did make magic less of an importance in my story and he doesn't have an amulet to obsess over I figured he would be a more comfortable character. That's just my interpretation.**

 **I hope that helped with that point.**

 **I've also been asked about Amber and why she was suddenly so accepting of Sofia after being cold to her in the beginning. I should have explained that sooner and I apologize for the confusion so in this chapter I went into a bit more detail about that.**

 **If you have any more questions I will happily answer them for you :)**

 **XOXOXO**

 **Chapter 13**

Sofia wasn't able to sleep that night, not with what had happened earlier. She decided to go down to the kitchen for some tea, hoping that would help her relax enough to

stop thinking at least. When she arrived at the kitchen she found the staff laughing and pretending to fall over

"what's so funny?" she asked nicely grabbing a plain white cup from the cupboard

"oh, Miss Sofia!" a woman with brown hair exclaimed regaining her posture "nothing, Ma'am" she bowed deeply

Sofia looked around the room and saw that everyone was awkwardly staring at one another "you were making fun of me, weren't you?" she asked sadly and they all started

shouting

"no, of course not!"

"we would never!" and so on

"hey, it's ok if you were. It was funny if you think about it, me falling and all, don't apologize for finding humor in such a horrible situation" Sofia giggled softly

"did prince Hugo give you that?" one of the men asked pointing at her now formed black bruise on her forearm

"don't worry about it" she tried covering it with her gown sleeve

"we didn't know how sever he had been with you, I apologize on the behalf of all of us for mocking you, your majesty" he and everyone else bowed to her and her chest

swelled

"I'm not queen, yet. you don't have to call me that" Sofia commented blushing

"you will be in less than a week, might as well get used to it" the man winked and everyone agreed

"what are your names?" Sofia asked looking around the room at the familiar faces

"our names?" a woman in the back asked

"yes, as you have pointed out I will soon be queen and I'd like to get to know you all better" Sofia had always been good with names and faces and was determined to

remember them all as they were shouted out to her

"it's nice to meet you all, I'll do my best to make you all comfortable with me" she smiled and everyone else did too. Sofia went to leave the kitchen but noticed the cup in her

hand and remembered the tea

"oh and Marjorie, could you make me a cup of chamomile tea. I almost forgot why I came in here"

News of Sofia's kitchen visit spread thorough the castle quickly and servants began coming up and introducing themselves randomly which was beginning to irritate the queen

"Sofia, why do they all keep telling you their names?" Anne asked at lunch the next day

"I asked them to, mother" Sofia answered not missing the bewildered look on her face, Sofia wasn't sure if it was because of the servants or because she had called Anne

'Mother'

"well, I was queen for twenty-two years and never bothered with their names. It's pointless" Anne said coldly taking a sip of her tea

"well, maybe that's why they don't like you" James pointed out and Roland couldn't help but laugh

"are you all against me now? I AM still the queen for five more days" Anne glared at Sofia as she spoke

'Yes, dear" Roland said catching his laugh in his throat

"how could we forget, mother?" James continued to laugh

A servant girl named Tia walked up to the pavilion "Miss Sofia, your wedding dress has been designed and Madam would like you to give your approval"

"Thank you, Tia. If you all will excuse me" Sofia stood up and James kissed her quickly

"don't let her keep you all day, we have planning to do this evening" he reminded her and she nodded kissing him again

"you two make me ill, I'm glad your father and I will be at the estate soon. I can't take much more of this" Anne said fanning herself dramatically, Sofia shook her head and

followed Tia

When Sofia arrived to the seamstresses room Ruby and Jade were standing in front of her Mirror wearing long silver dresses

"Ruby?Jade?! What are you guys doing here?" She squealed happily and ran to hug her two best friends

"Princess Amber came and found us in the village. She said she wanted to surprise her new sister by letting us be a part of your wedding" Jade smiled enthusiastically

"we even get to stay in our own rooms until the wedding!" Ruby exclaimed

"wow, she really does want to be friends" Sofia whispered impressed that Amber would go to so much trouble to make her happy

"I never in a million years would have expected it, she showed up at my house and she was friendly! She always seemed so..uh, well you know" Ruby laughed

"So what? Perfect? debonair? Regal?" Amber said humorously from the doorway startling the girls "all of the above would be correct"

"Princess Amber!" Ruby yelled bowing deeply "I apologize I didn't see you there"

"ha-ha, it's ok. I know I haven't been the nicest princess to Dunwitty but I hope to make it up to you all" she spoke sincerely

"Amber! It's so good to see you again" Sofia gushed hugging her

Amber hugged her back "It's good to see you too, Sofia. I am so sorry about the ball" sympathy showed in her green orbs and Sofia couldn't help but smile

"It's fine. Prince Hugo has been banished from the kingdom and my bruises are almost gone"

"BRUISES?" Ruby and Jade yelled in unison

Sofia had to explain what happened at the ball and about how James told him not to come back. She really wanted to tell them about the magic but she knew better than

reveal that big of a royal secret.

"Sofia, Would you like to try on your dress now?" Madam asked her and she nodded

'I'll help you with it, Sofia" Amber offered and they went into the changing room

"It's perfect!" Sofia gushed looking at herself in the mirror while the other girls stared in envy. The dress was sleeveless and white with pearls surrounding the bust. It flowed

down to the floor in ruffles and had a removable six foot train. The shoes were seven inch heels with randomly placed diamonds and Sofia was terrified of them. It was 'simple

elegance' as Madam had explained, she said it matched her personality perfectly.

"The shoes" Sofia complained having trouble standing

"Oh, Sofia. they are perfect. you will get used to them" Amber said waving her hand passively admiring the heels

"you will wear them around the castle the rest of the week, by the wedding you won't want to wear anything else"

"yes and if I break my legs?" "then we get you a diamond studded wheelchair" Madam shrugged laughing

"yay"

"what are you wearing?" James asked as Sofia stumbled into his room clinging to his bed post for dear life

"Apparently my wedding shoes. Amber and Madam won't let me take them off until our wedding" Sofia pouted hoping he would demand them to be taken away and burned

like the demons they were

"isn't it bad luck if I see you in them?"

"no, not the shoes. Just if you see me in my dress" James laughed as Sofia slid down to the marble floor and sighed

"They are pretty" he complimented examining them closely

"they're beautiful. But I'm going to kill myself in them, Madam insisted though"

"you'll get used to them, Sof"

"you're not going to get me out of this are you?"

"nope. I like them"

"so much for my knight in shining armor"

"HA. I'm a prince. we get what we want at the expense of other, love" they both laughed as he helped her up on her feet again

"Is chocolate cake ok?" James asked as they walked arm in arm through the ball room checking off items on Anne's list

"yeah, but can the truffles be white chocolate? I've always wanted to try it" Sofia answered excitedly

"yeah, that sounds awesome" James exclaimed writing it down hurriedly

"do you want an ice sculpture of a swan or butterflies?" he asked seriously

"what is an ice sculpture?" she asked thinking it sounded quite silly

"oh, people carve animals and stuff out of ice"

"strange but I'm intrigued, butterflies sound good"

"they are different but very pretty. now for the color scheme. gold, silver and white or teal, white and silver?"

"you take this one"

"ok. Teal, white and silver it is"

The rest of the afternoon was a blur of questions about food, Sofia trying not to fall down the stairs and Anne constantly trying to make changes which James refused to allow.

That night Sofia and James stared up at the stars in the gardens like they had during her first stay at the castle

"Have you thought about how many children you want?" James whispered holding Sofia close to keep her warm

"well, I've always wanted two boys and a girl"

"why?" he asked curiously

"In case what happened to me happens to them, two older brothers to take care of their sister"

"you know if anything happens to us our children will remain in the castle"

"yes, and I had an entire village looking out for me. It still would have been nice to have someone I was close with to really talk to"

"why didn't your parents have more children?"

"my mother lost four babies before me and one after. They took it as a sign that I was the only child they were meant to have and stopped trying"

"you were their miracle, I knew you were special the moment I laid eyes on you Sof"

"I suppose so. Mother always told me my will to live was the strongest and that I was meant for something special"

"and now your going to be my queen"

"And more importantly your wife. I love you, James"

"I love you too, Sof. Two boys and a girl, huh? I think we can manage that. maybe more" James sat up quickly and playfully pulled Sofia on top of him

"James!"

The morning before the wedding Sofia was lying in her room, James had been taken by the king to go over last minuet technicalities for the coronation. There was a knock at

her door

"Come in!" Sofia yelled hoping it was one of her friends to keep her company

"It's me" Amber smiled closing the door behind her and coming to sit on her bed

"Amber, what can I do for you?"

"I was hoping to get a chance to talk alone before the rehearsal dinner tonight"

"of course, whats on your mind?"

"I just wanted to tell you how happy I am for you, and that I'm sorry my mother has been such trouble"

"thanks, but I'm not sure you apologizing for her is going to make me forgive her honestly. How did you know anyway?"

"She has been writing me while I've been away, she's mad because James is getting married to a 'village girl' when we were raised to marry other royalty. James is changing

rules and she is less than thrilled"

"what do you think?"

"Every one thinks I am just like my mother, and in a lot of ways I am. But only when it comes to my stubborn will and the need to have every thing go the way i want it.

When I first noticed James's interest in you mother and i vowed to end it. I, however, was called back to my fiance Zandar and was unable to help her in her quest"

"and now?"

"My friend, Princess Clio, was supposed to marry James. They had been told and Clio far was more enthused than James was and when he met you he never mentioned her

name again. He loves you, truly, and love is rarely found in our world so I understand why he is pushing so hard to keep you. That's why the wedding was rushed so much.

I'm not even getting married for two months"

"Is that why she tried to get me to dance with Hugo? to try and break me and James up?"

"Everyone Knows James hates Hugo, she thought that James would get so mad at at you for showing interest in him that he would break off the whole engagement and marry

her out of spite. She felt horrible after seeing you hurt at Hugo's hand and spoke up for you when he lied, she's not a bad person. Just jealous. My twin is, somehow, one of

the most sought after princes in fifteen kingdoms and you have him in your grasp, you can't really blame her"

"I suppose your right. Do you love Zandar?"

"D-do I love him?"

"I love James more than anything. I would marry him if he had nothing and we lived in the village for the rest of our lives. Do you feel the same way for Zandar?"

"I told you, Sofia, Love is a rarity for people like me. We grew up together and I care for him deeply, I am pleased to be his queen. But no, I don't love him as you and James

love each other"

Sofia hugged the sad princess beside her and they sat in a silent embrace for what felt like an eternity

"Sofia, we should get you ready for the rehearsal dinner" Amber reminded her sniffling

"Will you help me? your makeup and hair always look so nice and I heard you do it yourself"

"Of course I do it all myself, no one else could deliver this kind of perfection" They both laughed and Amber pulled her out the door. Amber's old room was still lined with

jewels and beautiful tiaras. When she was done with Sofia she was wearing a teal dress that went along with the decor of the wedding and her hair was left down falling down

her back like a curly waterfall

"you look absolutely magnificent, your just missing one thing" Amber assessed and went to her wall of tiaras. She came back over to Sofia holding a silver tiara with teal

flowers made of jewels that matched her dress

"Amber, I'm not a princess. I can't wear that" pushed it away and Amber got a stern look on her face

"Sofia, this is your wedding rehearsal to the future king of Enchancia. If you can't be a princess tonight then something is very wrong with our society" Amber placed the

beautiful accessory on Sofia's head and smiled "Perfection"

Sofia looked at herself in the mirror and for the first time she realized what she was getting herself into and she waited for the fear to set in. But it never did. Sofia felt pride

swelling in her chest like it had the night before in the kitchen, she wished her parents could see her in her glory. She wasn't a prideful or greedy person by any means, she

was proud of herself for not being scared for once in her life.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

James walked into the dining hall which had been transformed into a wedding wonderland.

The table was covered with a pure white tablecloth with a silver table runner that sparkled like a million diamonds, the chairs had white covers and a combination of teal and

silver tulle tied into bows on the backs and the chandeliers had both been replaced by silver ribbons flowing down above the table.

Even the fireplace had been enchanted where the flames glowed from silver to teal.

It was beautiful and all the time and effort put into it the last few weeks was worth it if just to see Sofia smile.

James laughed to himself remembering how not too long ago he had been annoyed at how nothing ever changed and it was amazing how quickly they did.

'James!' Sofia called running to him as well as she could in her shoes

'Sofia" James hugged her tightly as she jumped in his arms

He noticed a silver tiara adorned with aquamarine stones in the form of three flowers. Her gown was teal with silver accents and a white lace bow at the

base of her corset that covered the front entirely. She looked more like a princess everyday and he was proud knowing she would stand beside him as his

queen.

"What is that on her head?!" Anne screeched from across the room

"it's called a tiara, mother" amber said surprising everyone except Sofia who just smiled warmly at her

'y-yes, dear. But why is it on _that girl's_ head?"

"oh mother, is it too much to ask for you to be civil? _Sofia_ is going to be a queen tomorrow, I thought it would be nice for her to be a princess for one night"

Anne just stared at the three of them dumbfounded like they spoke a different language than them and before she could argue the matter further king

Rolland entered the room

'My this place looks great, I can't believe were in the same castle' he mused taking his place beside Anne

James nodded and Sofia giggled sweetly but Amber just sighed

'Daddy, is it ok for Sofia to wear one of my tiaras tonight?' she asked never taking her eyes off of Anne

'why of course, she's going to have the crown tomorrow after James's coronation, might as well get used to the headgear' he smiled

Anne huffed and stomped out of the room muttering something about no one caring about her anymore. James knew he had to make sure his wedding went

off without a hitch and the only way to do that was to make his mother understand that his happiness depended on Sofia. The last thing he wanted was for

her to stand up and object to their unity. James followed after Anne and found her barking orders at some staff members who were putting the finishing

touches to make it wedding worthy

'mother, we need to talk'

'not now, James. I'm trying to make your sham of a wedding worth going to'

'it's comments like that that make people dislike you, mother'

'yes well, I don't need people to like me. I just need them to listen to me and do as I say'

James grabbed his Anne's shoulder and turned her towards him, he towered over her by at least a foot but she didn't seem to care

'Don't, James' She commanded as though he was still a child and he finally understood why she had been acting the way she was

'let's take a walk in the gardens mother, like we used to'

Anne sighed 'oh, fine. but we have to be back in before nightfall for the ridiculous rehearsal'

James led his mother outside and offered her his arm, she took it suspiciously

'what exactly do you want from me, James?'

'what I want more than anything is for you to accept that I am in love with and marrying Sofia'

'ugh, anything else?'

'I also want you to try and get to know her, you've spent so much time trying to break us apart that you haven't tried to see what the rest of us do'

'then enlighten me, please. What do you and the rest of the bloody kingdom see in that illegitimate, homely, entitled village girl'

'what are you talking about? Sofia is none of those things except for the fact she is from the village. She has endured the pain of losing both of her parents

and instead of asking for help she decided to exist alone. Anything that was given to her was out of the love of the other villagers'

'yes but she took it upon herself to ask the villagers to lie for her so she wouldn't go to the orphanage. That was extremely selfish'

'She didn't want to leave her family home, that's not selfish it's admirable. plus, the villages could have come to you or father if they felt she wasn't worth

protecting but no one ever did'

'I suppose. However, a bunch of villagers' opinions doesn't make her suitable for my crown. She needs to go back and marry that Thomas fellow. That is

where she belongs'

'THOMAS? Mother, are you insane, with his temper he would eventually kill Sofia. That would never happen, even if she did decide not to marry me'

'I just do not see what the appeal is, and honestly I don't care to hear anymore. She isn't royalty and I do not and probably will never accept her as my

daughter-in-law. unfortunately I will have to accept her as queen seeing how if I don't it would be considered treason. Now if you don't mind I have work to

do'

'Say her name, mother'

'what?'

'Say Sofia's name. not once since she has been here have you called her by name to her face or in conversation, so say it'

'ugh. Sofia. There are you happy?'

Anne scrunched up her gorgeous face like she had eaten a lemon and turned back towards the castle

'I love her mother, that should be enough for you to accept her'

'love. Ha. Kingdoms aren't built on love, James, they are built on leadership and knowledge. You were raised to be a king and she was raised to make

clothes. You already have a seamstress, what you need is a queen. It's about time you grow up and find one!'

'Your right, mother, I was raised to be a King. I know how to handle a crisis, I know the appropriate time to declare war and also when to end one. don't

you think, after all of my education and also from watching amber and the other princesses I would be capable of finding a good queen? One that is humble,

intelligent, respected by the village and also makes me want to be a better person for her and the kingdom. I am not a child anymore, you can't make me

change my mind by throwing a temper fit. I love you, I will always love you and I know you think Sofia will replace you and your right. She will take your son

and your crown tomorrow, you may lose your title but you will always be my mother, no one could ever take that from you. plus you will get to play with

your grandchildren, spend your days planting flowers like you love to do and yell at servants in the country'

Anne was silent, her blue eyes welling up with tears. James bent down and hugged his mother gently

'I guess I could give her a chance, no promises though'

'that's all I ask'

Anne and James made their way back to the dining hall where everyone was awaiting their return

'Sofia' Anne grabbed her hands and everyone including the staff froze 'I want to apologize for how rude I have been lately. James set me straight and I

would like to...get to know you...better'

Sofia looked at James skeptically he just laughed and nodded. Sofia's expression was that of pure joy

'oh, Anne!"

Sofia flung her thin arms around Anne's neck and, to everyone's obvious surprise, she hugged her back.

The wedding rehearsal went by smoothly like James knew it would and he was excited beyond measure for the actual wedding. The food at the rehearsal dinner was

delicious and Sofia decided that white chocolate truffles needed to be made everyday and left in bowls randomly around the castle. James agreed easily, he was never known

to turn down chocolate.

Zandar showed up in time for the dinner, as usual he came for the food

'Hey, Zandar, good of my best man to show up even if it is just for the food" James joked, they had been best friends since they were children and if there was one way of

getting him to come over all James had to do was mention food

'Sorry, James, my parents insisted my coronation needed to be before the wedding'

'Does that mean-'

'I'm am officially King Zandar of Tangu and once Amber nd I get married She will immediately be the queen'

'congratulations, Amber did you know about this?' Rolland asked

'no, daddy but that's fantastic darling!' Amber gushed no doubt happy she wouldn't have to wait before taking the crown

James thought for a moment that he should have done the same but he was looking forward to Sofia being a part of the coronation and wanted to, if just for a few hours, just

be her husband.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Sofia stood in front of the full length mirror in her room.

The girl who stared back at her looked like a beautiful stranger, her dress was perfectly formed to her body, her makeup was subtle but made her blue eyes sparkle like

sapphires and her hair was curled and piled on top of her head.

She looked like Sofia but this version was happy and loved by more people than she ever thought possible.

This Sofia was about to get married to the crowned prince of Enchancia and by the end of the day would be a queen.

The thought of all that responsibility and the fear of not being good enough to help rule an entire kingdom was cancelled out by the fact that she would get to rule alongside

James and he would help her any way he could and she would do the same for him.

She was going to bear his heirs and make him as happy as he makes her. their prospective life looked perfect and she would do whatever it took to

make it so.

'Sofia, are you ready?' Jade asked straightening out her dress one last time and Amber dabbed one last coat of powder on her already coated face

'very' Sofia grabbed her bouquet of silver roses with teal tips and baby's breath and faced the door

Ruby knocked on the big white door and it was opened by two guards dressed in black tuxes. Jade walked behind Sofia making sure her long train didn't get

caught on anything and the other two girls walked in front of her

'Sofia, you look absolutely beautiful' Rolland said offering her his arm

'Thanks, Dad. Thank you for walking me down the aisle as well"

'I know you would rather have had your actual father here, I hope I can do him justice'

'you've been so understanding since the beginning, even when Anne wasn't. I can't tell you how much I appreciate and love you. I feel very blessed to be

able to call you my father'

Rolland and Sofia smiled at each other and the first song began to play indicating it was time for the bridesmaids to begin the ceremony.

Jade went first.

Then Ruby.

And finally Amber.

Then the wedding march sounded and everyone stood, villagers and royals combined to witness their Sofia get her happy ending.

Sofia and Rolland made their way to the alter surrounded by the people closest to Sofia and the kingdom but she didn't see any of them.

James, who was adorably dumbstruck, looked more handsome than ever. His tux was silver with a white undershirt, a rose that matched her bouquet was pinned to his

lapel, his usually messy blonde hair was spiked up a bit on top. His bright green eyes never left hers, she didn't care that her shoes still kind of hurt her

feet, she wanted to run to him but she was stuck on turtle speed passing row after row of onlookers.

Finally Sofia reached the alter, fighting the urge to go to him.

'who gives this woman to this man?' a tall thin man in purple robes holding a black wand asked

'The king and queen of Enchancia'

'Sofia, James, please approach the alter'

Sofia handed her bouquet to Jade and took her place beside James

'Are you both here of your own free will and aware that you are about to join in wedlock now and forever'

'I am'

'I am'

'Today is a celebration of love between James and Sofia, the unity of two hearts and two lives that will be eternally entwined in this life and the next.

James, take Sofia's hand and with this rope I will bind you together'

A rope magically wrapped around their wrists shocking them both

'James, do you promise to love, honor, cherish and protect Sofia forsaking all others and holding only unto her forevermore'

'I do'

'Sofia, do you promise to love, honor, cherish and protect James forsaking all others and holding only unto him forevermore'

'I do'

'you may exchange the rings'

James took the ring from Zandar and Sofia took hers from Jade

'The ring is a symbol of the unbroken circle of love. May these rings always remind you of the vows you have shared'

'With this ring I, James, take you, Sofia, to be my wife and I promise my love to you as long as we both shall live'

James slid the large pearl ring easily on Sofia's finger

'With this ring I, Sofia, take you, James, to be my husband and I promise my love to you as long as we both shall live'

Sofia slid the onyx ring on James's finger

'by the power vested in me by King Rolland III, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!"

Sofia and James's lips met happily as the crowd cheered and threw rose petals.

The reception was full of joyous dancing and enough food to feed all the surrounding kingdoms, apparently. Everyone was overjoyed at the union including

Anne who danced with Sofia more than James got to.

The time finally came for James and Sofia's coronation and soon they were crowned the King and Queen of Enchancia.

Rolland and Anne moved to the estate where Anne tends to her beautiful flowers which she takes to the castle to remind James and Sofia how much she

loves them

at least that's what she says

they know it's just to see the twins Anne and Benjamin in-between the weekly visits

Sofia and James visit the village once a month to see their friends and have kept Rolland's tradition of the Royal festival as well as they attend every other

festival.

The villagers love them and have dubbed them the greatest King and Queen to ever rule their great land.

Cedric is teaching Sofia magic and she has put a spell on the kingdom so no one will ever get sick and have to go through what she did.

All in all, Sofia's happy ending was just the beginning of the greatest chapter of her life.


End file.
